Obsession
by Herpalerp
Summary: While trying to uncover motives of "the Hand of Destiny," Chase and the gang stumble upon an even bigger plot. One that involves a certain monsuno, and the monsuno sight. Slight AU because takes places after "Frenenmies." *Complete*
1. Chapter 1

A/N:

Alright, Welcome everyone to the sort of AU story of monsuno.

Basically takes place, eh, about a week or so after episode 18 of Monsuno Combat Chaos (also known as frenemies). Chase and the gang end up stumbling into another plot as the Hand tried to initiate another plan to gain monsuno energy.

(This beginning had now been rewritten THREE different times. Just know way too much effort was put into this whole project/ thanks for taking the time to read)

Enjoy!

* * *

The desert stretched far ahead for miles, sunlight heating up the sand below their feet. A black haired teen in a blue jacket, Chase Suno, was the first out of the shade of tropical trees that was right next to the desert. He took a long gaze around as the rest of his friends, trailed out of the jungle behind him.

"Ugh. Why does it have to be so hot here!" Bren said, slumping as he walked along. He took his glasses off as he wiped some of the sweat off his brow.

"It's only been ten minutes since we left camp, Bren. I'd imagine you could man up for a few minutes," Jinja remarked, but also couldn't help but sigh at the heat.

"Easy for you to say," Bren started, and smirked, "It's as hot as your head out here." Jinja turned with a ferocious look.

"What was that?!"

Chase couldn't help but chuckle at the antics of his friends. He had been traveling for a while with Jinja and Bren specifically for almost a year now searching for his missing father, Jeredy Suno. Along the way they picked up a white-haired monk named Beyal, and a rather brash but clever teen named Dax. Of course he had also found trouble in the form of different enemies along the way, but that was something that he and the rest of them could handle.

Especially since they had monsuno on their side.

"We should reach the spot Dr. Suno specified in an hour or so," Bren said, looking down at the Core Tablet in his hands.

"Then we should be able to head back early right?" Beyal asked, gazing around at the desert around them.

"Yeah, then we wouldn't have to listen to Bren complain," Dax said, snickering a bit. Bren glared daggers at him.

"Oh, you all can just go-"

Chase's attention to his group was long gone, however, as he continued to walk forward. His dad had sent the small group out to collect samples of monsuno energy levels, saying it would only take a day or so. Chase continued to walk forward, half listening to his friends talking (or in Bren and Jinja's case, fighting). It was almost relaxing when compared to all the other battles they faced in the past few weeks. All things concerning S.T.O.R.M., Dr. Klipse, and the Hand of Destiny seemed so far away when doing an activity that was so mundane.

It almost reminded him of long ago when he used to be a whole family with his mother and father.

Chase slowed his pace a little at that last thought. As much as he loved having his father back in his life, he was still missing his mother, and it had only gotten worse with the constant visions he would have of her. But she had gone missing long ago, there was no way she could be guiding him this whole time...

He started walking again, his thoughts lingering on what happened a few weeks ago with their last encounter with the Hand of Destiny. It wasn't all bad, seeing that he now knew that his mother was wherever those creeps were. Still, it wasn't comforting to have that information.

"Oi! Baby Suno!" Dax shouted. Chase turned around. He must've quickened his pace at the last moment without realizing it, because everyone was now at least twenty paces away.

"Oh. Sorry. Lost in thought. Was there something you wanted?" Chase asked. Dax rolled his eyes.

"Yeah. We've been at it all day now. And I don't think you've noticed, but everyone could use a break," Dax said, tilting his head towards the others. Chase immediately looked all around them, seeing nothing but sand and desert for miles. By the time he turned completely around, everyone had caught up and were drinking heavily from their water bottles.

"Sorry Dax. But I don't see anywhere for us _to_ take a break," Chase shrugged, "I'm sure we're almost to the meeting point. Isn't that right B?"

"Wha-" Bren spluttered as he spilt water all over his front, "Oh. Hold on." He took out the core tablet, and after a few clicks, he frowned.

"Sorry Chase. I can't seem to get a signal out here," Bren said, and started to tap away at the screen.

"That's okay. Beyal, can you see anything with your-" Chase stopped as soon as he saw the far away look that Beyal was giving. Not really looking at anything in particular, and most likely in the middle of some sort of vision. After a moment, his eyes blinked back to normal.

"uh... Earth to Beyal. Did you see anything?" Chase asked. Slowly, Beyal looked up, but shook his head.

"I'm afraid not. Though I did sense a... disturbance in energy not to far from here," he replied, trailing off at the end. Jinja, who was next to him, gave Chase a worrying look.

"I'm sure it's probably fine," Chase waved his hand around, "According to my dad, we only have to go a few miles out into the desert before we get to the point."

They spent a few more minutes walking across the sand dunes, which started to look extremely similar after a while. The only difference was how distant the jungle trees behind them became. Chase could feel sweat rolling down his face in bucket loads. When he turned around, everybody wasn't doing to well either.

"I spy with my little eye-" Bren said, "Something starting with s."

"Oh let me guess. It's sand right?" Jinja said sarcastically, "Like all the past five times."

Bren gave a frown before coming to a halt, looking over everybody, "Actually, no."

Chase noticed the surprise in his tone, and turned around. "What is it, B?"

Bren pointed forward, and when they all looked there was something on the horizon. It was small and black at the moment, but was moving across the desert to their left.

"What is it?" Jinja asked, squinting.

"... It kind of looks like S.T.O.R.M.," Chase said, "Bren, do you know if there's a base around here?" Bren was tapping on the core tablet and furrowing his brow.

"I still can't get a signal out here. It's like there's something blocking it," Bren said, "Or it's just a big dead zone out here."

Chase bit his lip. Now they couldn't tell how far to go, or even if they were heading in the right direction.

"Well... Since they're not heading our way, I suppose we should just keep going," he said, and continued to walk. He only took five steps before he found himself slipping down one of the dunes. He let out a yelp before hitting the bottom.

"Chase! You all right?" Jinja exclaimed. Chase brushed the sand out of his hair before turning back.

"Yeah, I'm fine!" He shouted, "Just slid down a small-" He stopped when he found himself staring up at everyone.

'I guess the fall was larger then I though.'

"Hold on! We're coming down!" Bren shouted. Chase continued to look around, and found that he was standing in the a large depression in the sand. There were also rocks instead of sand, as he moved to the middle, and soon he was looking down a large pit in the ground.

"Whatcha find Baby Suno?" Dax asked. Chase bent down to look inside, but it got dark after a few feet down.

"Not sure. But I have a feeling its what my dad was looking for," he said, standing back up, "He did say we would know it when we saw it."

"Well maybe we should send someone down, just to make sure," Jinja said. They heard Bren give out a yelp as he slid down, and all turned to him.

"Ah! I hate sand!" he groaned, and looked up, "... So what are we doing?" Jinja turned to Chase with a mischievous smirk.

HLP

"_Is it almost ready?"_ A voice purred in the dark. The only light within the large cavern was from the light being reflected off of the pool in the middle. The distant sound of water trickling echoed throughout the place.

"_Only a few more minutes and the barrier will finally come down,"_ another voice said as five figures stood close by the edge of the water, "_The second it does, we will only have a moment before it escapes. We must make haste when it does."_

The pool continued to shimmer, and soon it was lighting the entire pool on it's own. One of the figures soon had a twisted smile appear on their face, eyes lighting up at the reaction.

"_Petros will be proud to know that we will have finally succeeded."_

MDL

"Chaaaase! Why do I have to be the one to go down?" Bren whined as they continued to lower him into the hole. They strapped a rope around him like a harness, though that did little to comfort him. It kept getting darker and darker as they let the rope drop more.

"Because-uh!... Bren... Your... The lightest!" Chased huffed out, trying to keep a firm grip on the rope. It was an overstatement considering how they were all desperately trying to hold on.

"Why couldn't you send Jinja down? Or Beyal?" Bren continued to complain, his voice echoing up to them. In all honesty, it would've been easier to send someone lighter down, but since Bren was the only one who could manage the Core Tablet he was the one getting shoved into the hole.

"You know how much I don't like cold, dark, cramped spaces!" Bren continued to grumble. He brought the Core Tablet up, pushing a few buttons until a decent amount of light was shining around. He frowned when he was still looking at the walls, despite being a good ten feet down from everyone. He looked down and could see the ground a few feet below, and the hole widening out.

"I think I see the bottom now!" Bren called out, "It looks like its a cave or something. Can you guys lower any more?"

"...Geh! I don't think so!" Chase shouted. "Do you see anything down there?"

Bren frowned at the wall, "No. If you could lower me one more-"

A small bit of light crept through a crack in the wall. Bren tried to look through, but the hole was too small. He started to chip away at the wall, crumbling in small shards at first and then quickly becoming large chunks.

"... Bren? You see something?"

"Yeah! There's this light but I can't see anything. The hole's too small," Bren replied. He continued to poke at it until his hand could fit through, "... I can't see what it is though! The light's really bright!"

Above, Jinja gave Chase a look. "Why would there be light in a cave?"

"Don't know," He responded, and turned back to the hole, "Can you see where the light is coming from?!"

"... No... Maybe if I-woah!"

Bren's weight had suddenly shifted, and they were all yanked forward into the hole. Their screams echoed throughout as they hit the ground. It wasn't very far down, but that didn't mean it wasn't painful.

"Ow ow ow..." Jinja said, turning to punch Bren in the shoulder, "Why'd you pull us down, Bren!"

"Agh! It's not my fault! The light got really bright," Bren mumbled. Chase managed to pull himself out from everyone, suddenly realizing where they were. It was a cavern with all kinds of stones glittering as light shined in the distance. He could vaguely make out the silhouettes of a group of people a couple of yards away. He heard footsteps, and turned to see Beyal looking at the strange light.

"There's something wrong about the air in here," he said, "it is as if pure monsuno energy is in the air itself."

Chase took a few steps forward, and could vaguely see as the light started to distort. Suddenly, he heard someone shouting at them.

"Can you see who they are?" Jinja asked, trying to look as well.

"Yeah, for all we know it could be someone from S.T.O.R.M., or even Dr. Klipse and his creepy butler," Dax added. Chase took a few steps forward, but stopped when he saw one of the people move their way towards the rest of them.

"Who are you and what are you doing down here?!" They asked in a stern voice that echoed throughout the room. "Don't you know this area is a restricted section?"

"Sorry. But we were just looking for the exit," Chase said, taking a step forward. For the most part, he didn't recognize the voice as anyone they had met so far. Either that or it was S.T.O.R.M. soldiers doing Charlemange's dirty work.

"Y-yeah!" Bren piped, "So If maybe you could direct us towards-"

"LAUNCH!" A core suddenly came spinning right at them. Chase had his hand on Locke's core at the time, however, and spun out as well.

"Locke, Launch!" He shouted and ran a few feet ahead of everyone else, "Stay there guys!"

Within a second of hitting the other core, Locke appeared in a burst of blue light, and gave out a roar that shook the whole cavern. The other core on the other hand was lying dully at Locke's feet...

"Wait! Where's the other one?" Bren asked, frantically looking around. There was now burst of light from the other core, and it laid dully on the ground. The person suddenly let out a howl of laughter.

"You didn't think I actually _had_ a monsuno did you?" They said, and let out another round of laughter before the whole cavern was enveloped in white light.

MLD

Jeredy Suno leaned back and cracked his spine, and sighed in relief. For the past two days he was trying to find the location of the unknown spike of monsuno essence that had appeared. Unfortunately for him, it was gone as quick as it came.

His eyes lingered on the screen for a moment before he let out an exhausted sigh. It was a map of the whole world with little dots clustering in many places, signaling areas with large concentrations of monsuno energy.

"I wonder if Chase made it to the point yet," he finally said, tapping a few keys. He looked over to see Jon Ace, standing still inside the glass case. He had yet to find a cure still, but was determined to find the cure. That was one of the reasons he sent Chase out to search for this new outbreak of monsuno essence.

"I think this will be it Jon," Jeredy said, "If we can get a hold of even a sample of this energy, then maybe I can find gene that can change you back. For all we know, it could pop out of nowhere-"

Like a signal, the screen started blinking over in the desert area of the Sahara. Jeredy gasped, knowing that was in the area that Chase last called from. He furiously tapped away, trying to locate the signal, when Jon suddenly let out a roar.

"Jon! What is it?" He exclaimed jumping to his feet. Jon started to thrash about in the case, but it managed to hold up. Jeredy's gaze went back and forth between the blaring computer and Jon desperately trying to get out of the container. Soon, it had started to crack.

"Jon, you have to calm down!" Jeredy said steadily. He banged on the glass wall, trying to get his attention. Finally, Jon looked up with a glare. Jeredy gasped. Before, Jon's eyes were a piercing red, now they were emanating a green color.

Slowly, the beeping from the computer grew silent, and his eyes went back to normal. Jon slumped to the bottom of the case with a thud, leaving Jeredy staring down at him with wide eyes. Throughout the time he had been trying to find a cure for Jon, Jeredy had seen the worst of the effects of the monsoon essence. Green eyes wasn't one of them.

Not knowing what to do, he merely gave once last look at the screen, seeing the last of the tremors die out. He didn't get the reading because of Jon, but it seemed like that was the least of his worries. Sighing, went to the back to get something to patch up the cracks in Jon's containment unit, knowing that Chase was most likely in the dead center of whatever just happened.

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A/N: Review Review Review


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Enjoy!

* * *

The light was blinding for a few seconds, and even the cavern seemed to quake at it. Slowly, Chase managed to open his eyes enough to see the small group of people running and shouting yards away from them.

"Chase! What's going on!" Jinja shouted. They were all standing back, but the light was just as blinding because of the crystals in the rocks. Before he could answer, the person in front of him started to laugh again.

"This-" they said holding their arms out, "Is the reprise of the Hand of Destiny!"

Chase's eyes widened at the name, despite all the light. s

"The Hand of Destiny?" he repeated with uncertainty. The Hand of Destiny had been active for a while now, and it was clear that whatever they were doing revolved around monsuno sight and essence. Was this their big plan to take over the world?

There was a loud 'POP!' and the white light started to turn black, still emitting from the center of the cavern. The two colors were now shooting out from one place behind the person. The second it happened, the person turned around quickly to the others.

"_What's going on_?!" They exclaimed. One of the other figures turned.

"_It's too unstable! We need to abort the mission!"_

There were more flashes of light, and the air had a sudden change. It became cold and frigid. A deafening screech was heard, causing them all to grip their ears.

Beams of light continued to shoot out, hitting all directions. Eventually, the ceiling and stone bearings started to give out.

"What did you do?!" Chase shouted. The person bit their lip. It was now or never.

They rushed forward, charging right up to the Suno boy. Chase stumbled backwards in surprise, and before the person could reach him, Locke was in front, and swung its paw out before letting out a roar at the hooded person. They ducked, and looked straight at Chase. He gaped when he saw their eyes, which seemed to be _glowing_ blue, hypnotically.

Chase felt captivated by the look, and everything seemed to fade away as he stared into them, as if there was a deep abyss beyond them, and staring into them just drew him in more and more.

Suddenly, it was gone. And everything went to black.

MDL

"Chase! We have to get out of here!" Bren shouted. They all stood a few feet away as Chase was now staring down the hooded person from before.

"Chase! Over here!" Jinja shouted. Before any of them could move, Locke let out another roar. Suddenly, a beam of white light shot out from the center of the room.

They all watched as it zoomed towards the hooded figure, as if to hit them. Instead, the person vanished in a puff of black smoke.

And the beam went straight into Beyal. All eyes widened as he let out a small gasp before collapsing to the ground.

"Beyal!" Jinja yelled, and ran over to him. The cavern quaked, and sunlight finally started to shine through the ceiling as sand poured through. At this rate, they were going to be buried alive.

"We have to get out of here!" Dax shouted. Bren turned and nodded, but then saw a flash in the corner of his eye. It was then that he noticed the glowing eyes staring out at them from afar.

"Dax look out!"

A monsuno leaped out and dashed forward at them. Dax had managed to get a hold of Boost's core before throwing it towards the beast.

"Boost, launch!"

Boost came out in a blue light, and stopped the monsuno from advancing. Both Dax and Bren could see that it was a strange combination of a tiger's head, the body of a jackal, and a curved tail like a lizard. It bit and thrashed about as Boost griped tighter with its own claws.

Bren couldn't see anyone else around, but saw Chase now on the ground, Locke protecting him from the falling rocks. He looked back to Jinja, who was now holding onto the unconscious Beyal. There was another flash, and Bren was staring down another monsuno as it creeped around the three of them.

"Jinja get down!"

It finally pounced, and Bren pushed the two of them to the ground. The monsuno was fast, and was soon standing above the three of them with white eyes. Jinja let out a scream before the beast roared down at them.

GLP

Chase slowly sat up after a scream rang through his ears. He wasn't sure how long he had zoned out, but when he looked around, everything was in all disorder. The people from before were now long gone, leaving Team Core Tech in the middle of the collapsing cavern. Boost was now engaged in battle with another monsuno, while everyone else was now under another, about to become its next meal. Wasting no time Chase, got to his feet and gave a look to Locke, who seemed to nod.

"Locke, take it out!"

The other monsuno instantly turned to the two of them, and let out a hissing screech. Locke charged forward, and both were wrestling ferociously. Chase watched the beast, which was like a mountain lion with crystal porcupine quills sticking out of its back, as it bit, scratched, and clawed at Locke. It was uncoordinated and fierce, and soon had Locke pinned to the ground.

"Chase!" Bren said, running up to him, "We have to get out of here! The cave is collapsing!"

Chase nodded, "Make us an exit!"

Bren took a hold of Neo-Quickforce's core.

"Neo-Quickforce! Launch!"

After it appeared, it didn't take long for Neo-Quickforce to burst through the ceiling, leaving them in a cloud of dust. Chase gave one last glance at Locke, who managed to flip the other monsuno around, before running over to the others. He could make out Dax and Jinja's outlines a small distance away and ran up to her.

"Jinja! We gotta go!" He shouted. He couldn't see her face among the dust, but he could feel her eyes linger on him. She stood, and held out a core.

"Skyfall, launch!"

Chase didn't bother with telling them where to go. It was obvious: out.

"Bren! Let's go!"

"Neo-Quickforce!" He shouted, and felt the ground next to him quake. He could see his monsuno bend low so he could climb on. Without a second thought, he hopped on, Chase right after him.

"Locke!"

"Boost!"

"Return!"

Both Neo-Quickforce and Skyfall darted out of the dust and remaining ceiling into the desert sky. Below, the sand had finally consumed the remains of the cavern, and left nothing but mounds of sand in its place. Nothing was said as they watched for a moment, expecting something to happen or appear. Finally, the two monsuno climbed out of the sand. they spotted the group hovering above, and started to lurk below them.

"Now where do we go?" Bren asked as they slowly eased away from where the cavern once was. It was obvious that that was where Dr. Suno wanted his readings from, but whoever those people were from before had gotten to it first. And whatever they did certainly wasn't going to be good.

Chase thought for a moment. Everything happened so fast, and it was hard to tell what to do next. They could always head back and try to find out what those people were after, but then those monsuno weren't looking too friendly. Their eyes, even from far away, had a murderous glint. Even Locke had trouble fighting one off.

Still, what that person said before was unnerving. The Hand of Destiny was no doubt plotting something, and it was going to take all their efforts to defeat them. Especially if he ever wanted to see his mother again...

"Far," Chase said, and turned to look at Bren with a serious look, "Head into the desert. We need to try to lose them so we can go back and investigate."

"Chase are you crazy!" Jinja shouted, "The last thing we need is to be doing is going back to those crazy monsuno! We should just get out of here while we can."

"Our monsuno don't have enough time to get us to the edge back into the forest," Chase said. In truth, he really did want to leave. Something in the back of his mind was telling him to turn and go back to his father with the readings, even if they didn't manage to get them all. "Besides, if those people were really from the Hand of Destiny, we need to be prepared for whatever they are planning."

Chase continued to look ahead of them as Neo-Quickforce increased its speed a little. Bren gave a look back to the others. Jinja was looking furious and flustered (probably from the attack), while Dax sat behind her, holding onto Beyal who was still out cold. Sighing, Bren turned back to Chase.

"So... Where are we going exactly?" he asked after a moment.

"… Well actually," Chase said a turned around with a sheepish look, "I have no idea."

"Eh?! But what about finding out about those people?" Bren asked.

"Well… I thought maybe you would know where to look since you have the Core Tablet," Chase said. Bren grumbled a little, and took out the tablet. The map appeared for a brief moment, but soon went to static.

"Ugh. Stupid thing," he mumbled, "Sorry Chase. I still can't get a signal. I saw something a little East of here, but I'm not sure how long before we get to it."

Chase sat in silence for a moment. The cavern was so large, that it probably had more then one entrance. Whatever landmark was closest would probably lead down to it, or even lead them to those people. As much as he wanted to stay and search the area directly instead of blindly looking, they needed to find cover from the other monsuno.

"Alright, lead the way Bren. I'll go down with Evo and try to take out those monsuno from the air," Chase said, taking out Evo's core, "Once I do, I'll try to search the area and meet up with you guys later."

"Yeah, but there's just one problem," Bren said, looking down.

"What's that B?"

"Those monsuno are gone."

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A/N: Review Review Review!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Chapter was rewritten

Enjoy!

* * *

"They're gone?!" Chase exclaimed, turning to see for himself. There was no sign of the monsuno, nor any remains of where the cavern once was. Chase looked lower to see Jinja leading Skyfall along behind them. Dax was behind her, with Beyal between them, still unconscious. None of them seemed to have noticed that the monsuno had vanished, and were out of earshot of Chase and Bren.

"Where the heck did they go so fast?" Chase muttered, too quiet for Bren to hear. He bit his lip in thought,'Where did they even come from? That hooded guy from before clearly didn't possess any monsuno. And the rest of them were long gone when those monsuno had appeared...'

"Hey Chase," Bren said, stirring Chase from his thoughts, "Those monsuno... They were different then normal ones. And I don't just mean how powerful they were."

'That's right. Their attacks were uncoordinated, and unpredictable. Almost as if there was no controller,' Chase thought, '... But that's impossible. There's no monsuno out there that could survive out of its core for a long time. Except Locke...' He looked down at Locke's core, feeling the buzzing energy inside. Locke was still antsy since being called back, and for a good reason too.

'We need answers. Too many to count...'

Chase looked up, "Bren. Turn around, we need to find that cave again."

"What?! Has the heat finally gotten to your brain?" Bren exclaimed, "Chase. There's nothing out here but desert, and I'm pretty sure we're not going to see anything _but_ desert as well. I doubt we're going to find that spot again now that's its buried under all this sand."

"I know B. But we have to try. The only way we'll ever find out about the Hand of Destiny is to find out what they were doing there," Chase reasoned. That wasn't quite true. There was a feeling prickling in the back of his mind that made his feel uneasy as they flew farther away, and he could tell Locke was feeling the same way.

Chase sighed and looked back out to the desert. For a brief moment, he thought he saw someone standing in the distance. Much like in the mountains to the Cave of Convergence, it was like a vision that flashed before him. He could see _her_ standing far away.

Within seconds, Chase was entranced by a string of visions of the cavern from before. It was large, pools of water everywhere as moonlight came down from a single hole in the ceiling. He went closer, and could see her standing in the middle, turning slowly back to him. She said something, but he couldn't hear it, and before he could call out there was a hand on his shoulder.

"Chase? You okay?" Bren asked. Chase blinked slowly, looking at Bren then behind them. She was gone. "… Chase?"

"I… I think I saw something," he muttered, taking a hand to his eyes. What was she trying to say to him? A message? A warning? He looked up to Bren with a serious look.

"I think I saw my mother."

HLP

"How's he doing Dax?" Dax didn't look up, and was focus on the white-haired teen in his arms. Beyal hadn't stirred, and seemed to be asleep for the most part. His cheeks were a little flushed, but they were all looking that way from the intense sunlight, especially since they had been flying for a good few minutes.

"I can't really tell. He seems alright," Dax said, and looked up, "What the heck happened back there princess?"

"... I'm not sure. Those monsuno came out of nowhere," She said, and turned around, "and it looks like they're gone just as fast." Dax looked back and gasped. There was no trace of the two monsunos, not even any tracks. It was as if they vanished with the wind.

"I've never seen anything like them," Jinja continued, shuttering a little, "They were so... Vicious. It didn't seem like they even wanted to fight Locke back there."

"You're right. They seemed more interested in tearing us to shreds," Dax agreed. The monsuno that Boost had fought with had tried desperately to get at Dax throughout the fight, paying little attention despite Boost's attacks. Only rogue monsuno acted that way, attacking everything in sight and not hesitating in the least bit. Except S.T.O.R.M. would usually be the first few people to spring on the idea of new monsuno up for the taking.

"Who do you think they belong to?" Jinja asked.

Dax thought for a moment. The fact that they had no familiar colors also confirmed his suspicions about them being rogue. Dr. Suno's monsuno were blue. Charlemange and S.T.O.R.M.'s were yellow. Madea and Dr. Klipse had red. Dr. Tallis and the punk monks had orange. Last, the Hands of Destiny had green.

But these monsuno... They had no color at all.

"I don't think they belong to anyone," Dax said. Jinja turned and gave him a confused look. "Well... I don't think that any of the people we met would let monsuno roam free. They would be more interested in keeping those ones for themselves."

"Dax, monsuno don't just go-" Jinja started, but was interrupted by Beyal, who finally started to stir. His eyes slowly opened, and blinked slowly.

"How ya feeling Monkfish?" Dax asked, and Beyal sat up. He held his head, and swayed a bit.

"... Tired..." He muttered, blinking slowly. A flash of gentleness was in Jinja's eyes for a moment before she turned forward.

"Chase! How much farther are we?" She called out. He didn't respond. Bren noticed she was trying to get his attention, and looked between the two of them. He tried to give her a reassuring look, that mostly came off as a shrug. She frowned and clicked her tongue, and Skyfall suddenly lurched forward to catch up with Neo-Quickforce.

"Woah! Princess slow down!" Dax shouted, trying to keep a firm grip on both Skyfall and Beyal as they both almost fell off. When they were finally a bit ahead of Neo-Quickforce, Jinja started to slow them down. Dax noticed she had been getting more on edge lately, and it didn't help that baby Suno was being equally oblivious at the moment.

"Chase! You better say something or else-"

A blast silenced whatever Jinja was about to say. A gust of wind nearly knocking the three of them out of the sky in a bright orange flash.

And suddenly Neo-Quickforce was going down.

HLP

Both Chase and Bren shouted out when Neo-Quickforce started going down from the unknown blast. A shadow swooped above them all, but went unnoticed as Chase and Bren continued to plummet to the ground.

"Chase! Bren!" Jinja shouted out. Neo-Quickforce tried to straighten out, but was hit by another blast. Chase managed to get Evo's core out and throw it. It hit Neo-Quickforce's claw before it finally disappeared in a flash of blue light.

Evo dove out of the blue light and caught both of them before they hit the ground.

"Ah! That was too close," Chase panted, he turned to Bren, whose hair stuck up wildly as he sat up, "You okay, B?"

"Sure. As fine as a guy could be," Bren huffed, straightening his glasses. He blinked and suddenly pointed frantically in front of them. "Punk Monks twelve o'clock!"

Chase turned around to see Drezz and his crew in the flesh, four more monsuno's standing by. Fifty feet behind them was a cliff, dipping into the sand that most likely lead down to a canyon. Afterburn was hovering above them, forcing Evo to approach the ground. Chase and Bren both leapt off a few feet away.

"Out of the way Punk Monks. We don't have time to mess around today," Chase announced. Drezz chuckled at the remark.

"It's not you we're after today, Suno," he said, "We're just here for some information."

"And to deliver a message," Throttle added, her lips curling into a smirk. Chase exchanged looks with Bren. Skyfall had yet to land, and the others were still airborne. The other four monsuno were keeping them from getting any closer, and looked prepared to blow them out of the sky if necessary. Chase turned back to the Punk Monks.

"Alright then. What do you wanna know?" Chase asked. Drezz put his hands in his pockets and looked at Chase with a serious look.

"We hear there was a spike in monsuno energy, one of the biggest in years," he said, "Apparently it has some special properties that could further the doctor's research. We were told that _you_ know where it is. And as you know, the professor is vastly interested in all things monsuno."

Chase pretended to think for a moment. "I can't say I know," he said shrugging, and pointed backwards, "Although there were some rogue monsuno's back that way if you want to see. Though I'm sure S.T.O.R.M. would be happy to fight you for them."

"Rogue monsuno? Has the heat gotten to your head boy?" Tinker remarked. Drezz held his hand up to silence them.

"As much as I enjoy your jokes, we're in a hurry. You sure you don't know anything about it?" Drezz asked, and snapped his fingers. Immediately, Afterburn edged closer to Skyfall and the others, "'cause we can help persuade you if necessary."

"What're you-"

Both Afterburn and Skyfall let out shrieks. Chase and Bren both turned to see the dragon-like monsuno taking a hold of the other as everyone dangled dangerously off the side. The other monsuno took off after them and were lurking below, waiting for them to fall.

"W-wait! Stop!" Chase shouted. Drezz looked back to his crew, who had their monsuno back off a little. Afterburn continued to hold onto Skyfall, and Chase's eyes lingered on the rest of Team Core Tech before he turned back. Drezz smirked, and held out a small USB drive.

"From Dr. Tallis."

"... What is it?" Chase asked, turning it in his fingertips.

"Not sure. We weren't allowed to see what the doctor put on it," Drezz said, "And I'm sure it has more to do with those crazy kooks that called themselves 'the Hands of Fate' or whatever they're called. All I know is that you better start talking. Otherwise your little friends will be toast."

Chase slipped the jump-drive into his pocket, his eyes lingering on the ground. What was he supposed to say? Clearly the Punk Monks had little information about the Hand of Destiny, so telling them about what happened in the cavern would be useless. And the only possible effects they would've seen would be the cavern collapsing and those monsuno appearing out of nowhere, but even then it wouldn't be the information they were looking for.

"…Well Suno?"

Chase licked his lips nervously, "If you call off your monsuno, we'll show you the readings we got from the monsuno essence an hour ago."

Drezz hesitated for a brief moment, debating whether to trust Chase or not.

"Uh… Chase," Bren whispered, leaning over to Chase. "We never got those readings, remember?"

"Yeah I know, but we just need to _show_ them something," Chase said, "Try to bring up whatever you can."

HLP

"Wh-what's going on down there?" Dax asked as they all continued to hang onto Skyfall's talons. It was an awkward angle to see what was going on, especially with the monsuno moving every other second.

"Ugh... Can't tell!" Jinja said, trying to maneuver around. Afterburn's tail would keep swishing through the air and kept getting in the way of watching what was going on. The other monsuno below them were also watching, but kept their distance for the time of being.

"It looks like Drezz gave Chase something," Jinja said, squinting down at the group.

"Really? What'd he give?" Dax asked, trying to look over as well

"Well. If I could _see_ from here I'd tell you," Jinja huffed out annoyed. Dax suddenly smirked.

"Can't help it if you're big head gets in the way," he said. Jinja's ears turned red, and she looked back with a furious look.

"Oh you and Bren are so dead when this is all over! If it weren't for Beyal being between us I would've-"

Beyal, who remained silent the whole time, suddenly noticed something in the air. Ever since he woke up there was a strange presence, as if they were being watched by someone. From the corner of his eyes he swore he saw a monsuno appear and then disappear, but there were no monsuno that had that ability as far he knew. There was also a faint ringing in his ears that seemed to be getting steadily louder, almost making his head spin...

"-and that's the last thing you'd want," Jinja finished.

"Sure thing princess," Dax said rolling his eyes. "Oi, I think something's going down over there."

All their attention went back to Chase and Bren, who were now talking to each other. After a moment, Bren walked over to Drezz, showing him something on the Core Tablet. Whatever he showed didn't make Drezz happy. Bren turned back to Chase, and as they kept speaking, Drezz seemed to be getting more annoyed.

_"__...Beyal..."_

_"_Huh? Did you say something Dax?" Beyal asked, only to get a weird look from Dax. Beyal immediately looked away, thinking it was his imagination.

"_…up ..._"

For a moment, he just blinked in confusion at the voice he thought he heard. But then he noticed the monsuno that was now standing across the cliff from everyone. No one else seemed to notice it until it let out a shrilled cry.

Suddenly, another monsuno came crashing into Afterburn, releasing Skyfall.

They all screamed out as Skyfall disappeared in a flash of blue and they went plummeting to the ground. There were many shouts as they fell, the most prominent being Chase and Bren. As he reached for one of his cores, Beyal swore he saw a woman with long brown hair standing a few feet away from Chase.

Before he knew it, the ringing suddenly became deafening, and his consciousness slip away.

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A/N: Review Review Review!


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Thanks to Rezonmon, Antithesis-00, ChasexJinjaforever, guest user, Myra the Sark, and Kryst for the reviews.

Enjoy!

* * *

The sun was now on the farther side of the sky, meaning it was now well into the afternoon. S.T.O.R.M. copters were now spreading throughout the desert. The most prominent were those that were now stationed where the cavern used to be. A few miles west was the entrance to a mine shaft where four people came out covered in dust.

"_Who would've thought that Suno would show up," _one of the people hissed._ ,"Here. Of all places! Wasn't he supposed to be with his father?"_

_"That's what one of the reports said,"_ another person said, this one more feminine, "_But as you know, he tends to find trouble on his own._"_  
_

"_Then how is it that Petros is having such trouble capturing this kid?"_ the first person asked irritated, "_If it weren't for our task we probably could've captured him ourselves."_

There was a sound in the distance. When they looked over towards the east, black helicopters were hovering over the remains of the cavern, taking off into two different directions.

"… _We could've captured him if we had just accomplished the task we were given in the first place!"_ a third person added in, much younger then the rest of them, _"And we didn't even do that!"_

The last person who had yet to speak took a few steps forward into the desert. The jungle wasn't too far off, and could easily be reached before the sun went down, especially now that the helicopters were now traveling back into the desert.

"…_It doesn't matter what the rest of the Hand is up to,__" _They said,_"the point is, is that we failed._ It_ was__ released back there, and we have nothing to show for it."_

The wind started to pick up, causing dust and sand to glide across the dunes. Dark clouds were forming in the distance towards the jungle.

"…_ At least until we get it back._"

MDH

"Chase! Over there!" Bren exclaimed. From across the canyon he could see an unfamiliar looking monsuno. It looked like an owl, but when it's eyes opened, they were like that of a snake's. It's neck elongated a bit, tilting in a disturbing matter as it watched them all. Finally, the beast gave an ear-piercing shriek that caused them all to grasp their ears. That was when all hell broke loose among the monsuno.

"Wh-what's going on Drezz?" Throttle asked. The Punk Monk's monsuno were now fighting amongst each other, but when Chase and Bren looked closer, it was as if they were fighting an invisible enemy. Drezz growled, and took a hold of Chase by the front of his shirt.

"This is your doing isn't it Suno?" he said. Before anyone could say anything, there was another loud howl behind them. Bren turned around to see Dax, Jinja, and Beyal all falling as Skyfall slowly disappeared back into its core.

"Guys!" Chase shouted, but was stopped when Drezz took a firmer grasp of his shirt.

"We're not done talking here Suno!"

Wasting no time, Bren took out another core before running forward.

"Longfang! Launch!"

Longfang came out in a flash of blue just in time to catch everyone before they hit the ground. It circled back, but was stopped when Afterburn came crashing to the ground, the mountain lion monsuno from before standing over it. The owl-like monsuno swooped over them and lashed out into the crowd as well, and soon the monsuno were all attacking each other.

"Longfang, try to go around!" Bren shouted, only to be muffled by the ongoing fights around him. The second monsuno with the jackal head came into view, and was the one that kept appearing and disappearing as the other monsuno continued to strike out at each other.

"Bren! Let's go!" Chase yelled. Bren turned around to see Chase running towards the canyon, Drezz doubled over clenching his stomach. Not wasting any more time, Bren quickly followed, trying to get sight of Longfang and the others. Finally he saw them emerge from the cloud of dust being kicked up by the fight Afterburn was having.

"Longfang this way!" He shouted, waving his arms in the air. Unfortunately that attracted the attention of the jackal-headed monsuno. Bren let out a yelp before running after Chase, the monsuno now charging into their direction. Evo, who was still on the ground, grabbed onto the other and forced it back. Both shrieked out as they attacked.

"Chase! We gotta get out of here!" Bren exclaimed. Chase continued to look around, even looking over the edge of the cliff. Below was a canyon with a river running through it, but was quite far down.

"We can't go down. And we can't outrun the rogue monsuno, much less the Punk Monks or S.T.O.R.M.," Chase said, looking around as if a way out would appear. He looked up to see the S.T.O.R.M. helicopters getting nearer, no doubt attracted by the battle. Evo wouldn't last much longer, and wouldn't be able to carry them all either. It was up to Dax and Beyal's monsuno now.

"Chase! Bren!" Jinja called out, avoiding a blast from one of the unknown monsuno. She ran out of the plumes of dust, a bit flustered but overall okay.

"Jin, we have to find a way out of here," Chase said, ducking down as a blast came flying by, "Where's everybody else?"

"They're right behind-" Jinja stopped, Dax came running out of the dust, much more disheveled then Jinja. Longfang jumped out, standing a few feet away between them and the monsuno battling. It would hiss and growl as soon as the fighting came near them.

"Dax, where did Beyal go?" Jinja asked.

"How should I know? I thought you were keeping an eye on him," Dax snapped, dusting himself off a little. Jinja shot him a look, and started to look around. There was too much chaos to see anything beside the monsuno. Even the Punk Monks were somewhere amongst it all and were hardly visible.

"_… Chase."_

He blinked, thinking he was hearing things.

_"Chase."_

That time he definitely heard someone. A vision flashed liked before, and he felt compelled to go into the commotion.

"Chase? Where are you going?" Bren asked as he took off.

"You guys stay here and out of sight. I'll go find Beyal," Chase said, and charged forward, despite their yells behind him. There was dust and blasts flying everywhere as he searched, trying to find some sort of sign. Evo was close by, and managed to throw the other monsuno back. It quickly lost interest and went back to fighting the Punk Monks.

'How did those monsuno get here so fast? They weren't even following us the last time I check,' Chase thought as the mountain lion monsuno charged towards Evo. He coughed as sand was kicked into the air. There were only a few of the Punk Monks' monsuno out battling, though they looked down to their last bits of energy. Drezz and the others were on the farther side away from everything, and immediately spotted Chase.

"Suno! What's going on here!" Drezz yelled, narrowly avoiding a blast that came close to taking off his arm.

"How am I supposed to know!" Chase retorted, and gave another look around, "I suggest you guys get lost before you and your monsuno end up as scrap metal!"

He didn't bother to stay and listen to whatever witty remark Drezz would give. He ran along the edge of the cliff, looking through the remaining few monsuno who were fighting. As the dust started to settle, the three unknown monsuno had cornered the last of the Punk Monk's monsuno, and were getting ready for one last assault. Chase paused for a moment, torn between finding Beyal and helping them.

Drezz gave him a strange look, and then smirked. He threw up a device that looked much like a stunning bomb. There was a flash before a cloud of smoke descended on them. Chase found himself grinning, knowing that they would be able to get themselves out of the situation, even if it did concern the other rogue monsuno. Drezz was clever like that.

When he turned around, Chase stopped. There was a woman standing on the edge of the cliff a few feet away, her long brown hair flowing in the wind. Chase's eyes widened in realization of who it was, even with her back facing him. Sand and dust was tossed in the air, and when Chase rubbed his eyes, the woman had disappeared and Beyal was standing there instead. Chase stood dumbly for a moment, realizing he was just seeing things.

After all, there was no way she could really be there…

"Beyal! We need to get out of here!" He exclaimed, getting as close as possible without drawing attention. The monsuno were still a couple of feet away, and even though they were going after the Punk Monks that didn't mean they would't change their minds and come after them. Not to mention S.T.O.R.M. that was on their way, no doubt seeing the commotion that was going on.

Despite all that was going on around them, Beyal seemed to have a calm demeanor, standing still against the wind that was starting to pick up. When he turned so that they faced each other, Chase gasped. His eyes were half open, but were glowing a bright green. Much like the time he had lost his soul.

"B-Beyal?"

"_Chase Suno." _Chase's eyes widened, shocked at the strange voice Beyal spoke in. It was silent, but also rung clearly out, even with them standing far apart from each other. Another monsuno roared out, and Evo was suddenly returned to its core. Chase ignored it. Beyal raised a hand and pointed towards the edge of the cliff.

"_Travel north until you find the hidden entrance to the Cavern of Coalesce. Use your monsuno sight to find the true path through the labyrinth. If you do not get lost, you will find the one you are looking for," _Beyal lowered his arm slowly and started to turn away.

"W-wait!" Chase exclaimed. He stopped and looked straight at Chase, who hesitated under the intense gaze. It was strange to see Beyal give him such a vicious look, when usually he had a peaceful air. Chase stood his ground though.

"Who are you? You're not Beyal."

They, whoever _they_ were, didn't respond, and Beyal suddenly swayed before collapsing to the ground.

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A/N: Review Review Review!


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: I encourage you all to watch the first few episodes in the japanese dub (those are the voices I hear them all speaking to be honest, which is why some of their speech mannerisms haven't all popped up a lot, except maybe Bren and Dax). Random to ChasexJinjaforever for the review.

Anyway, enjoy!

* * *

Oh how he had waited for this moment. Not only was Suno's boy now in range, monsuno essence was now flowing freely and abundantly from a single source. All Dr. Klipse had to do was claim it before Charlemange and Jeredy did, and he would finally be able to create a perfect human-monsuno hybrid.

Sure the last few attempts were unsuccessful (especially because of Chase Suno!), but this new energy would most likely be the key. According to the readings, not only was it in a purer form then any energy so far, it was also a different structure.

"Have you tracked down the monsuno energy wave yet?" He said into the communicator. Currently he was still at his laboratory, watching closely over the readings of the monsuno energy as Hargrave was out surveying for him.

"Not yet sir," his butler responded, the communicator surprisingly scratchy, "it appears that anything left from the wavelength is gone, and S.T.O.R.M. troops are here as well."

Dr. Klipse frowned. Of course Charlemange would be on top of things. All those troops to her disposal so willing to bend over for her. Well, almost all of them.

"… There's something else sir." Dr. Klipse looked up with mild interest.

"What is it?"

"It seems that Chase Suno and his friends have been spotted in the area. And it seems that they were here _before_ the incident took place," Hargrave said.

"I see..." Dr. Klipse said, a rather sinister smile appearing on his lips, "Then I expect you know what to do then?"

"Of course sir."

HLD

"You got a solution on getting us out of here?"

Drezz closed his eyes in thought as the panic from his teammates became more evident. The bomb he threw only slowed the other monsuno a little, but it was obvious it wasn't going to be enough as they started to stir a minute later. He could see Suno talking to his friend behind the monsuno, but that was the least of his worries.

"I have one, but we'll be toast if it doesn't work," Drezz said, taking out a few more flash bangs and some timed explosives, along with a zip-line. If he could whip them up enough cover, then maybe they could make it across the canyon to the other side (and if they were lucky, the monsuno would go after Suno).

"When I say go, take off for the cliff over there," he said, turning the knobs on the bombs. They all nodded. Just then, the three other monsuno charged forward at them. Drezz threw the bombs out, latching them onto the ground in front of them. They beeped quickly before letting out more plumes of smoke.

The silhouettes of the monsuno suddenly veered away completely, and were now bolting towards Suno and his friend, who had suddenly collapsed.

Not wanting to press their luck, Drezz motioned the rest of them towards the edge of the cliff. Immediately he shot the zip-line over to the other side onto one of the less conspicuous ledges.

"Go! Go! GO!" he exclaimed, making sure the rest of his crew got on before him. Sure he was a liar and a cheat some times, but he wasn't about to turn his back on some of the people he had come close to over the past years. Not bothering to see if Suno made it out, or if the monsuno were on their way, he cut the line, and swung over, letting his team pull him back up.

Once he got up, he heard the explosion go off from where they just stood. Drezz motioned the rest of the Punk Monks to follow as they made their way along the cliff, until they reached a far enough distance away for the other monsuno.

"Ugh! That was too close," Ratchet sighed. They all stood for a moment when there was a loud quake. When they looked over, the cliffside had collapsed.

"… You think they're okay?" Tinker asked. Drezz smirked to himself.

"With that kid, it has more to do with whether we'll clobber him the next time we meet," Drezz said. No doubt Suno had probably made it out. He was lucky like that. Just then, his communicator went off, meaning Dr. Tallis would be wanting a full report.

"And I'm pretty sure that it'll be much sooner then he expects."

GWL

"Chase! Get back here!" Jinja shouted as Chase ran into the clouds of dust, hesitating for a moment on whether to go after him. But then there was another explosion, and more smoke filled the air. The rogue monsuno continued to roar, though it was hard to make out where they were exactly. When trying to look over the scene, Dax noticed how close the S.T.O.R.M. helicopter now were. They would probably be there within minutes, meaning they had to make tracks fast.

"Let's go!" Dax said. Jinja nodded, and they both took off into the brawl, Bren trailing behind them. It was hard to see anything in all the smoke, and it continued to get worse as the wind started to pick up.

"D-Do you guys see them?" Bren huffed along. Dax continued to eye the monsuno's shadows, expecting them to come towards them. There was no sign of the Punk Monks, meaning that they had probably taken off. Dax scoffed at that thought. Running when things got tough, the cowards.

Jinja suddenly gasped, and bolted towards the cliffs. When Dax and Bren followed, they could see Chase's outline. They were at his side as he stood blankly for a moment, looking forward in a dazed fashion. A few feet away from him was Beyal, who was sprawled out on the ground. Jinja ran over to his side as Bren tried to get Chase's attention.

"Chase! Wake up, we need to get out of here!" Bren exclaimed, shaking his shoulders a little. Chase didn't respond. There was another roar, and when the three of them turned, Evo had finally disappeared. Leaving them face to face with the rogue monsuno.

"Airswitch, launch!"

The monsuno stepped back a bit when Airswitch appeared in a blue glow, but charged forward. Bren and Jinja could only watch as Dax tried to take the monsuno on single-handed. The monsuno overpowered Airswitch with ease, tackling it to the ground and making it quake. The Owl-like monsuno suddenly flew overhead, and landed in front of Jinja and Beyal. It let out another shriek down at the two of them. Jinja sat frozen with fear, and without thinking, Dax stood in front of the two of them as it charged up another attack.

Airswitch was suddenly thrown into the monsuno, and the blast his the ground instead. Within seconds, the cliffs were crumbling down and they were all falling quick. The monsuno pelted Airswitch with more blasts, finally causing it to disappear. Dax cursed as Bren and Jinja screamed as they all fell. Chase snapped out of his daze when he heard them, and let out a yelp before they all hit the surface of the river below.

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A/N: Review Review Review!


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Thanks to ChasexJinjaforever, Myra the Sark, and Antithesis-00 for reviewing!

Enjoy!

* * *

"Oh thank heaven!" Bren exclaimed as he was pulled up from the water, desperately taking in air. Taking a quick glance around, he saw that it was a wider, calmer part of the river that they had washed up on. The first thing he did was run out of the water and deposit his bag to see if the Core Tablet was damaged. Luckily, Dr. Suno made it sturdy enough to last a nuclear explosion. He sighed in relief, and sat back for a moment as he recalled the last few minutes.

When they all fell into the river, everything seemed to move so fast. Tossed and thrown through all the waves and against rocks. Bren remembered being able to see everyone bobbing along trying to stay afloat, but also how hard it was for himself to stay above the water (he was never good at sports, much less swimming). At times, he thought he was gonna get pulled under, never to see the light of day again. Luckily, Dax kept a firm hand on his jacket, pulling him up every so often. He was the one who dragged Bren out of the water, immediately running back to the water's edge as Bren stumbled up and out.

Bren glanced around to see the others close by as well. Jinja was coughing violently, hunched over on the ground, while Beyal was sitting nearby, staring out at the river with a rather blank expression. Dax was still standing in the water, his coat tossed off to the side as he kept surveying out over the water. He suddenly leapt back in, leaving them all on the river bank. It was then that Bren realized that there was no sign of Chase.

The last thing he remembered was standing right next to him as the cliff collapsed below their feet. He doubted that he was too far off, but that wasn't a comforting thought.

"Jinja, did you see Chase?" he asked, looking over. Jinja looked downright sick as she turned over to him, bumps and scratches all over her arms and parts of her face. Bren looked down at himself to find a good amount on his own body as well. Oddly enough, Beyal seemed completely fine, though it was hard to tell with his cloak on.

"… Jinja?"

There was a loud splash, and they all turned to see Dax pulling Chase out of the river, unmoving.

"C-Chase!" Jinja choked out, stumbling over to his side. Dax set him on the ground. Chase was unresponsive and extremely pale with just as many bruises and cuts as the rest of them. Bren crawled over, trying to steady his own breath. He felt his hands start to quiver as he listened for a breath.

He didn't hear one.

"I-I don't think he's breathing!" Bren said shakily. Jinja instantly paled, and stumbled to his side as well. Wasting no time, Dax went to Chase's other side and immediately started to give chest compressions.

"C'mon baby Suno! Don't do this now!" He huffed. Bren could hear his own heart thumping in his ears as he could only watch and wait for some sort of sign.

"Chase..." Jinja muttered, her eyes cast downcast. Bren clenched his fists. If only they weren't blind-sighted, maybe he could've helped fight off the Punk Monks, or even those monsuno...

He felt a hand on his shoulder, and he looked to see Beyal. He had an unreadable expression, but for some reason Bren found it reassuring. There was something about the way his eyes gleamed that felt... mesmerizing. In fact, they almost looked like they were _glowing._

DLM

Charlemange was furious.

Somehow Commander Trey had managed to screw up everything once more, letting new monsuno slip right from their grasp. What's more, Jeredy Suno and his son were a step closer to reaching them then she was. For all she knew, they had gotten into possession of those new monsuno, and were long gone. Currently she was storming down the hallway back to the main dock of the airship, eager to voice her concerns to all in earshot.

"Commandant Marshall!" The troops said as she entered. She didn't respond, and charged right up to her station.

"Patch me through to ze rest of ze crew!" She demanded. Not wanting to feel her wraith, the soldiers immediately went to work. She grabbed the microphone, slamming down on the button.

"ATTENTION!" she said, her voice booming, "WE ARE CHANGING COURSE TO ZE SOUTH EASTERN BASE. WE ARE TO BE ZERE BY TOMORROW MORNING!" There was a click and the intercom went silent.

"Put me through to zee Strike Squad!" Charlemange demanded, receiving a salute from one of the soldiers before Alpha showed up on the screen. He gave a salute.

"Commandant-"

"Save it!" She huffed, "Since you are closer. I want you to go find either ze new monsuno or Jeredy Suno's son and his group. And when you do dispose of them!"

"The monsuno or Chase Suno ma'am?" Alpha asked, clearly intimidated by the woman. She smiled, her eyes glistening.

"Both." She lifted her finger of the receiver and stormed out. No doubt she would have to prepare for the upcoming fight...

HLP

"I don't think it's working," Dax said grimly, slowing his compressions after a few seconds. When he pulled Chase from the water, he knew that things were bad. He never thought it would get to this point.

"Well, what do we do?!" Bren asked a bit hysterically. Dax bit his lip.

"Someone's going to have to give him mouth to mouth."

There was a stunned silence before all eyes fell on Jinja. Instantly, the color came back to her face in a raging blush.

"W-why are you looking at me! You know how to do CPR better then I can," she remarked, eyes going back and forth between Bren and Dax.

"Princess, I think you can spare one kiss of life," Dax said, earning a look of horror from Jinja. Bren's cheeks start to heat up at the comment as well. "Now c'mon. We don't have time to waste."

"Listen Dax, I don't think that-" Jinja suddenly trailed off, eyes wide and fixed back on Chase. Both Bren and Dax turned to see Beyal's hands placed over Chase's forehead and chest. He started muttering something under his breath, keeping still the whole time.

"...What's he doing?" Bren whispered as they huddled together. Jinja shushed him, eyes still on Chase. Dax watched Beyal for a moment, and gasped when he saw a flicker of green in Beyal's eyes as they closed. He almost thought he saw light below his eyelids as well.

The second it stopped, Chase's eyes shot open.

They all jumped as he instantly bolted from his seat and doubled over, coughing up water. When he was done, he rolled over, moaning and gasping.

"W-We m-made it..." he panted, coughing violently again before he settled down on the ground. None of them made a move, even when he slowly drifted off into sleep. Soon, Chase started to lightly snore, unknowing of what had just happened. Jinja and Bren sighed in relief, shoulders slumping as they finally relaxed.

But Dax kept his eyes focused on Beyal.

Beyal was sitting still, eyes fixed on Chase. There was a coldness in his gaze, as if there was something missing from it. There was a glint of green that was still there, though that could've just been the light...

"Oi, monkfish... How'd you do that?" Dax finally asked, a hint of suspicion in it. They had been traveling together as a group for almost a year now, so most things didn't come as a surprise any more. But something didn't sit right with him in the way Beyal was looking right now. It was as if it was someone else entirely.

Beyal's eyes slowly moved to Dax, and he felt captivated by his stare. Dax shivered a bit, unnerved by the strange look within his eyes, as if he would jump up and attack him within a second.

"It doesn't matter how he did it. What matters is that we're all okay. Including Chase," Bren said, a smile forming on both his and Jinja's lips before he continued. "Let's just make camp here for the night. I don't think any of us are ready to get moving so soon."

"It's about two or so hours before sunset, but I think it'll get colder and darker down here faster," Jinja said, standing up and brushing herself off. They all looked ragged at this point, and would definitely benefit from some rest, "I suggest we start a fire and get our clothes dry before that happens."

Dax didn't budge, and neither did Beyal, who finally looked away.

"...Dax? Beyal?" Bren asked, removing his bag from his shoulder, "You guys gonna help at all?"

Beyal stood up quickly, and started to turn away. Immediately, Dax took a hold of his wrist before he could leave.

"Dax? Is there something wrong?" Jinja asked, walking back towards them. He could feel Beyal shaking within his grasp, but out of what was the real question. Dax's eyes narrowed.

"... Who are you really?"

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A/N: Review Review Review!


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Thanks to Myra the Sark, ChasexJinjaforever, Antithesis-00, Kryst, and the guest user for the reviews!

I realized after a comment that I put Charlemange as one of the key names even though her part doesn't come into play for awhile. Though to be honest, almost all the characters end up playing a part in one way or another *foreshadowing*.

Enjoy!

* * *

_The fall into the water was surprisingly pleasant, as far as falling into freezing water goes at least. When he hit the water, Chase found that __there was nothing but silence all around, even as he floated down deeper into the darkness. He opened his eyes to see everyone else struggling to get above for air as rocks continued to fall around them. He soon followed suit, kicking as fast as he could as he reached for the surface._

_There were flashes in his vision, and at first he thought it was because of the lack of oxygen. He saw his father, his friends, Locke, the Hand of Destiny, ruins in some dark place... It kept going like a movie on repeat, and he felt his head spinning as they came faster and faster. He wanted it to stop, and swam as hard as he could to reach the others._

_"… Chase."_

_He gasped when he heard that familiar voice so clearly. He could make the faint outline of someone floating nearby, coaxing him out of the flashes and easing the pain. Despite his lungs screaming for air, Chase swam lower towards the voice. The person came into view, with that familiar white dress and long brown hair. He had only seen her in visions and dreams, most of which were hazy._

_But that didn't mean he had forgotten._

_'Mother.' he thought. It wasn't too long ago when he had thought she was gone forever, and that maybe she was merely watching over him. But then he had learned from his father, Beyal, and the very members of the Hand of Destiny that she was in fact alive. His heart jerked when she smiled gently at him._

_"You... must…" she trailed off__, and held out a hand daintily. He had the urge to take it in his own, even though this was probably nothing more but another vision. Even so, she seemed much more physical then in all his past visions. Maybe if he could touch her..._

_Chase moved slowly, fighting his urge to get air. The edges of his vision started to get dark, but he continued to fight on. There was blue light behind her, giving her an angelic look as they were both surrounded by it._

_And that was the last thing he remembered before blacking out._

HLM

After they had finally gotten a fire started, Bren was trying to get a stable signal on the Core Tablet. It was stronger down in the canyon then in the desert for some reason (but he was certainly grateful for what little reception he got). For the most part he spent most of the time messing with the Core Tablet, trying to busy himself with work to get his mind off things.

They situated themselves in a cave as wide as the shore of the river that was next to them. It was much calmer then the rest of the river, enough so that they could wade in it quite a few feet outward before it got too deep. The cave also lead inward to a tunnel, though Bren didn't want to know what was probably in it.

"Hey Bren." he looked up. Jinja had somehow managed to get some fish from the river and had it cooking over the fire for the past few minute. She had a solemn look in her eyes as she stared down into the burning embers, not bothering to look up as well.

"What is it Jinja?" he asked as she flipped over one of the fish.

"Do you think...well... that there's something wrong over there?" she asked looking off to their side. Chase was still out of it from before, and was lying close by the fire with them. But Beyal was lying some ways a way, Dax watching over him as he kept tossing and turning in his sleep.

"Not really. I think Dax is just being a little paranoid at the moment," Bren said, looking back down to the tablet. "Why? Is he getting to you?"

"N-no. It's just that... What Dax said before... About that not really being Beyal..."

…...

_"__What do you mean Dax? Of course that's Beyal," Bren said, walking over to them. Dax had yet to loosen his grip, and both were standing still, "How else could he help Chase?"_

_"__Oh I don't think so, Glasses," Dax said, "Do you honestly think Beyal would be able to help raise Baby Suno back from the dead like he did?" Bren frowned and started to shuffle his feet. There were things about the monks of Tebab that none of them knew, but Beyal was different. He didn't have it in him to keep stuff from them. The only time he ever tried to keep information from them was the time he lost his ability to see visions, but even then Bren had somehow coaxed the information out of him._

_"__Dax, you're being ridiculous right now," Jinja said, standing next to Bren a few steps away, "Let's just get back to setting up camp. It's starting to get really cold really fast out here!"_

_Dax growled under his breath, and took hold of Beyal's shoulder. When he turned around, Beyal had a confused look on his face, eyes wide and blinking with concern. There was a faint distant look in his eyes that was fading away, and the glow that Bren thought he saw had disappeared as well._

_"__Dax?... Where are we?" he asked, a hand flying to his head. Dax's eyes widened in surprise, and released his shoulder. He took a step back as Jinja and Bren took a few steps forward. _

_"__Beyal? Yooou okay over there?" Jinja asked. There was a beeping, and Bren immediately lost interest as his attention was drawn back down to the Core Tablet. It had finally gotten a small signal, which meant they would be able to contact Dr. Suno soon and get out of this place._

_"__I am... not sure... where are we? And why is Chase on the ground?" Beyal asked wearily, looking around._

_"__You mean you don't remember the whole fighting off evil monsuno, taking a dip, and glowy monk powers?" Bren said. When he looked up, he saw Jinja shooting him a look. "Hey, I'm just being honest! You saw the way he-"_

_"__Beyal!"_

_When they both turned around, Beyal was falling forward, his legs giving out beneath him. Dax ran forward, letting Beyal fall against his chest. His arms were wrapped loosely around the smaller boy's shoulders, unsure of how to respond._

_"__Dax, what happened?" Jinja asked frantically, running over. Bren had jumped back up as well and followed suit._

_"__I don't know! He suddenly got this weird look and fell over!" Dax said quickly. When they looked at his face, Bren and Jinja could see Beyal's cheeks flushed red, his eyes closed, and face contorting in pain._

_….._

"I honestly think we just need to get out of this rotten desert," Bren said, "It does stuff to the mind. And I don't think you've noticed, but Dax isn't exactly the brightest bulb in the closet."

Jinja sighed, "Again, Bren, you're thinking of yourself." She looked down at the fire for a moment, and started to look back at the other two.

"Yeah sure. Blame the guy whose about to get us out of here," Bren mumbled. The signal for the Core Tablet was almost strong enough to send a message, he just need to-

"Chase!" Bren immediately glanced up at the mention of his best friend. On the other side of the fire, Chase had finally started to stir for the first time in hours. Bren and Jinja scooted closer and leaned over his side.

"How're you feeling?" Bren finally said after a moment.

"Why does it feel like I was tossed around in a washing machine for a few hours..." Chase said under his breath. Bren sighed in relief. "Uh... Hey B. Jin."

"Geez Chase. Give us all a heart attack will you," Jinja remarked. Chase gave her an exhausted smile, and looked around the cave.

"So… Where are we exactly?"

GLM

"Well, we're still in the desert if that's what you're wondering," Bren said. Now that he had a good look at them, Chase could see Bren and Jinja looking a little on the unkept side. Both of their hair was sticking out in some places, and their clothes were damp with little rips and tears in some places. They all sported cuts and bruises all over as well.

"Basically we fell into the river over the cliff," Jinja said shrugging lightly.

"I could gather that much," Chase said, and glanced over to the fire. He could see their coats lying next to it, still drying. His eyes trailed off over to the side where he could see Dax. "What's going on over there?"

"Beyal collapsed shortly after...Uh... How do I say this..." Bren trailed off scratching his head. Jinja took a short breath.

"Chase. You weren't breathing," Jinja said a bit hesitantly. Chase had a blank look on his face for a moment, not processing what she said. She shuffled in her seat before continuing, "Beyal ended up doing... _something_ that helped you breath again-"

"But I'm pretty sure he used some mystic mumbo jumbo or something," Bren said, getting an angry look from Jinja. "… Why do you keep looking at me like that? I swear it's like you wanna- Ow!"

Chase stared over them at the river for a moment as Jinja pummeled Bren's shoulder. That dream of his mother was so vivid still… Was she trying to lead him somewhere like before?

"_Travel north until you find the hidden entrance to the Cavern of Coalesce. Use your monsuno sight to find the true path through the labyrinth. If you do not get lost, you will find the one you are looking for."_

Chase held his breath when he remembered those words again, eyes lingering on Dax and Beyal for a moment. Without saying anything, he stood up and walked right over to the two of them. Dax jumped a bit when he saw Chase, but didn't say anything. Chase sat on the other side of Beyal, who opened his eyes a little wearily.

"C-Chase...?" He mumbled. His eyes were unfocused, and sweat was rolling down his flushed cheeks.

"Beyal, I need to know what you meant by going north. Is my mother there? Or the Hand of Destiny?" Chase asked seriously. There was a silence as everyone exchanged confused looks. Beyal blinked slowly.

"...I... Don't understand..." He panted out. Chase frowned, then finally realized the strange look in Beyal's eyes was gone. It was hard to tell with his eyes half open the way they were, but the murderous stare clearly wasn't there. Chase cleared his throat uncomfortably when he felt everyone looking at him with concern.

"Um... What I meant to ask was, what do you last remember?" He asked. Beyal continued to stare for a moment, then lowered his gaze a bit. Chase could feel everyone's eyes going back and forth between them as they spoke.

"You and Bren were... talking to Drezz... He... gave you something...?" Chase blinked, and remembered the jump drive. He patted his pockets, finding only a few coins and a foil candy wrapper.

"Bren, grab my jacket and look in the pockets," he said. Bren held up the Core Tablet for everyone to see, a smile spreading on his face.

"I was already on it. And it looks like Dr. Tallis is wanting us to go down south towards one of the S.T.O.R.M bases," Bren said, pulling up the map. It had a large dot where they were, and another one farther down that was blinking. Bren suddenly got a serious look, "Apparently they sighted some sort of new monsuno a few hours ago. According to the report it is- was... similar to Quickforce."

Chase held his breath, and everyone's eyes immediately fell as Bren grew silent. It had been months since Quickforce had to sacrifice itself to save them, but it was clear that Bren would never forget his fallen friend. Chase pulled out Locke's core and felt the metal findings. He simply held it for a moment, watching as Locke's energy continued to glow inside.

"… Is that all that was on the jump drive?" Chase asked hesitantly. Bren snapped out of his stupor, and tapped on the Core Tablet.

"Unfortunately, no. There was a message in some other language - ancient in fact - but it didn't match up with any pre-existing ones to decode it," Bren sighed, and held it out.

"Maybe the good doctor has finally lost it," Jinja said, looking down at the tablet. It was a picture of a stone with etchings in it. It looked familiar, but Chase couldn't place exactly where he saw it before. The stone definitely looked old with crystals embedded into it.

"Well... Anyway, I think we ought to head up north," Chase said, crossing his arms. When he looked up, everyone had gone back to staring at him, "... What?"

"Didn't you just hear Glasses?" Dax said, raising a brow, "The new monsuno is down South. And I'm pretty sure that's the opposite of north."

Chase frowned, and stood up, "You're not forgetting what happened a few hours ago when those creeps from the Hand were up to no good. We need to focus on their actions, and not to mention those other monsuno that had showed up when we were facing off against the Punk Monks." Chase was still holding onto Locke's core, and gripped it tight as he spoke.

"Well, we're not exactly equipped to go head to head with anyone anytime soon" Dax said, standing up as well, "The last thing we need is to be going into a fight with our guns half blazing. Especially if those rogue monsuno are still out there."

"And weren't we originally on a mission for your dad?" Bren added, and looked back down at the tablet after it started to beep again.

Chase rubbed the back of his neck, frustrated. It's true that they had come to the desert to collect samples (and they hardly even did that), but after what happened in the cave a few hours ago, it was obvious something was wrong. And with all the people involved, including the Hand of Destiny, this was spelling out trouble for everyone.

"I... think we ought to go back as well..." Jinja said honestly. "Chase. I don't think you realize it, but you almost _died_ today. And Beyal's not looking to good either right now."

Chase cast a look down at Beyal, who had drifted off back to sleep at some point. His breathing was a bit erratic, and while he didn't have as many injuries as everyone else, he seemed to be the worst one off at the moment.

Chase bit his lip and looked down at Locke's core again. Locke was still antsy, no doubt worried about Chase throughout the past few hours he was out. When he looked up, Chase looked back and forth between Bren and Jinja, who both had the same looks of concern in their eyes. As much as he wished to continue on and get to the bottom of things, Chase knew the wellbeing of everyone else would have to take priority.

"… Alright," he said reluctantly, putting Locke's core back onto his belt,"We'll leave at the crack of dawn. We… I'll get a hold of my dad tonight."

The Hand of Destiny would have to wait for another day a little longer. _She_ would have to wait a little longer...

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A/N: Review Review Review!


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Just watch the Japanese dub… Yes.

Thanks to Myra the Sark, ChasexJinjaforever, Glowblade998, and KaimelarTheDreamer for the reviews!

Enjoy!

* * *

"You have a signal yet?" Chase asked, poking around the fire. Bren wiped his eyes of sleep (which was sounding pleasantly good right now), as he looked away from the screen. He had been working for a few hours now, and had almost no progress on trying to get a connection out of the desert, much less to Chase's dad.

"Sorry Chase, I don't have a strong enough signal to call him, but it might be possible to send a really brief message," Bren said, "It can only be a couple of seconds though. Maybe a minute..."

"That's plenty of time," Chase said, quickly taking the tablet in his own hands. He cleared his voice, and started to record, "Dad. We managed to collect the samples of energy. But there has been a disturbance in monsuno energy, it appears that it may be connected to the Hands of Destiny." Chase hesitated for a moment, "...There's also these unknown monsuno that have attacked us. They don't appear to belong to anyone, but there was definitely something wrong about them."

The tablet started to beep, showing that they were loosing the signal. Chase quickly sent the message before it went dead. Bren took it, and started to furiously tap at the screen.

"...Sorry Chase. Signal's gone," Bren sighed in defeat, tossing the tablet on the top of his bag. Chases eyes lingered on it for a moment before he sighed as well. Bren could tell that there was a lot more Chase had wanted to say, even if he wouldn't be able to get an immediate response.

"I'm sure we could get in contact with him the closer we get to S.T.O.R.M. tomorrow," Chase said reluctantly. He sat for a second looking into the fire with an unreadable expression.

A little after dinner (and more arguing) they decided that their next action would be to go to the base, albeit briefly. Bren found it a little odd that Chase would be so set on going to some other location without telling them anything. He never kept any secrets from any of them, especially Bren or Jinja. Even after Chase found out that his father had gone missing, he was completely honest with the situation.

But now...

"So what's really up north?" Bren asked curiously. Chase bit his lip. Bren watched as he leaned closer to the fire, as if he saw something in the embers. After another moment, Chase sighed again.

"… I don't know," he said, and went back to stirring the fire, "Call it a hunch, but I think- _know_ \- that there is something up there that has to do with the Hand of Destiny."

There was a silence between them as the fire cracked.

"Does… Does it have something to do with your mom?" Bren asked hesitantly.

"…Maybe." Is all Chase said. Bren waited a moment for him to say something else, but he never did. Bren cast his gaze to the ground. He wanted to press for more answers, but all night Chase had been more worried about the next day. It was a bit unnerving the way he focused on leaving.

Bren stretched his arms up and popping his back a bit, "Well. I'm calling it a night." He muttered, and turned over so that he was facing away from the fire. But even after a few minutes of silence, he continued to trace random circles in the sand as he thought about what they would face tomorrow.

DMG

She yawned for the seventh time within five minutes, trying to fight off sleep as the night continued to roll on. Jinja was left watching over Beyal since Dax was on lookout at the moment. Jinja couldn't see the reason why it was necessary, and honestly agreed with Bren (for once) that maybe Dax was thinking a little too hard about what happened earlier. She looked over her shoulder at Chase and Bren, who were messing with the Core Tablet.

There was a low moan, and Jinja turned her attention back to Beyal. He shifted in his sleep, muttering something under his breath before calming a bit. He had a bad fever that had yet to break (and it didn't help that they were in the desert of all places). And since almost all their supplies had been lost when they fell, it was hard to say whether or not he would get better anytime soon.

Jinja clenched her fists in her lap. They obviously needed to get out of this dreadful place, especially with those monsuno running after them, and Chase still wanted to stay. At one point he even suggested that _he_ would go North alone while the rest of them go find Dr. Suno.

Her hands loosened at that last thought. Throughout all the time that they had to travel together in the past year, not once did Chase want to do it alone. Even in his loneliest times, either Jinja or Bren would be there to help him through it. Even recently Dax and Beyal were much more joined into their close circle.

There was a sharping beeping, and when she looked back, Bren had tossed the Core Tablet back onto his bag in frustration. No doubt they were having trouble with contacting Dr. Suno.

'Chase'll be happy that we're staying a little longer at least,' she thought, frowning.

"… Jinja?" She jumped at the sudden soft voice, and saw that Beyal was half awake. His eyes held a look of absolute exhaustion as he tried to keep them open.

"Um… Yes?" Jinja asked softly.

"…Where did… Master Ey go?" He asked almost silently.

She held her breath sharply at the mention of his late master. It had been over a month since the temple was nearly destroyed by One-Eyed Jack and the Desert Wolves. Beyal took it hard, though he tried not to show it, often times meditating for longer periods of time then before.

"Uh… Beyal, don't you remember what happened?" she asked. He lazily looked around before focusing back on her.

"… Did something happen to Master Ey? He was just here," Beyal trailed off, and nodded back into sleep.

Jinja didn't doubt that Master Ey had probably tried to make contact with the monk, but at the same time he could've just been delusional because of the fever. She brushed his bangs out of his eyes softly before standing up to stretch. Beyal flinched at the action, but didn't awaken again. After a moment, she glanced around the cave.

There was an unsettling feeling that she couldn't shake since that afternoon when they left the cave. It made her on edge, and more conscious of the things around them. Every flicker or shadow she jumped at, but knew that it was probably nothing.

'We just need to get out of here,' she thought. It frustrated her how they almost decided to stay for an extra day just because Chase wanted to go on a hunch. At least that's what he was saying. It didn't take a genius to know he was lying. There were always those subtle hints she could pick up on, especially back when the three of them were kids.

'If only things were as simple as before,' she sat back down, placing her hands in her lap. She didn't regret choosing to help Chase - and neither did Bren - but there were times when she wished they were back at home doing simpler things instead of running for their lives half the time.

She yawned one last time before lying close by Beyal. She turned towards the fire though, watching as the embers crackled, lulling her to sleep until Dax came over to wake her for the next shift.

MGL

The almost full moon shone out throughout the desert, casting its glow across the dunes. Alpha stood on the edge of the forest, looking out over the massive amounts of sand. Somewhere amongst it all was their targets, and it would be hell of a search to find them

"Hey Alpha," he turned to see X-Ray, "I picked up a small signal a few miles northwest from here. No doubt it's from Suno's crew."

"Perfect, tell everyone else we move out in ten," he said. X-Ray nodded a walked back into the forest to their camp. Alpha looked back into the desert, a smirk appearing on his lips. It looks like he'll finally get his rematch he truly wanted...

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A/N: Poor Bren and Jinja :( There's never enough of their perspectives or backstories, though we'll be getting a look at what's been going through the minds of our other heroes in the next chapter!

Review Review Review!


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: The calm is about to come to an end. That's all I'm going to say.

Thanks again to KaimelarTheDreamer, Myra the Sark, and ChasexJinjaForever for the reviews!

Enjoy!

* * *

Bren had fallen asleep almost immediately, leaving Chase alone to look over the fire. He looked around to see Jinja also sleeping near Beyal a few feet away. It had been an exhausting day for all of them, but he felt restless at the moment. Those strange monsuno, S.T.O.R.M. chasing them, and even Dr. Tallis sending his goons on them kept replaying in his mind.

Then there was that message that Beyal had given him, along with the visions he was having. He didn't want to mention it to Bren (who would have gone into immediate paranoia), and talking about it to Jinja would just cause her to worry. As much as he hated keeping things from them, he had to do this on his own. Neither of them could even understand what he saw that day.

Speaking of which, why _did_ he see _her_? There were never this many visions so close to each other, except a few months ago when they had to go to the Cave of Convergence. But even then, it was probably because of all the monsuno essence. It was also a little bizarre at how physical she seemed, not dreamlike but actually there near him.

… Was the answer really up North? Was she the one trying to lead him there like before?

"Oi, Chase," He looked up to see Dax standing nearby. He had a serious look, that had a hint of weariness in it from the day, "Can we have a talk?"

Chase nodded, not wanting to wake the others. They walked a few feet from the fire till they were on the edge of the river. It was lapping along the bank lazily, giving off a serene sound that would probably lull them to sleep.

"What is it?" Chase asked quietly. Dax hesitated for a moment, looking out to the river, then looked back at Chase.

"Before. There was something wrong with the little monkfish," he said.

Chase raised a brow, "What do you mean?"

"Ugh... I don't know. Maybe it was a play of the light or something, but when he..." Dax motioned at Chase, "I guess... _healed_ you or whatever. There was something about him that was... different." Dax looked down, and started shuffling his feet in the sand. "It was as if he was some other person..."

Chase's eyes widened at the comment, and he turned toward the river, "I... I know what you mean. When we were up on the cliff during the fight with the Punk Monks, it was as if someone was speaking through him." He turned to look at Dax, "And who ever it is, wants us to go north."

"Well, we aren't about to just go walking in like that are we? It could be a trap after all, maybe even one set up by those Hand of Destiny creeps," Dax said. Chase bit his lip. When he thought about it that way, it was obviously a trap, and clearly had them outmatched. Especially if they can possess people like it did to Beyal.

"I wish we could talk to Beyal about whoever it was. But he's too out of it to say anything," Chase said, looking back. The monk boy had gone in and out of consciousness throughout the night, but wasn't lucid enough to have a long enough conversation.

"Well... Actually. He did say something in his sleep before you woke up," Dax said, looking down as he kicked up sand. "He was muttering something about the old man monk in his sleep, and some sort of warning he wanted to give."

They were both silent for a moment. Chase looked out, watching the river roll by as he thought about everything. Someone - if not his mother - wants them to go north, but _why? _And Dr. Tallis wants them to go sabotage S.T.O.R.M., when clearly he knows something more. Or it's actually some sort of trap set up by Charlemange. Then there's the hooded people from before...

"Arg! It's just too much!" He exclaimed, scratching his head in frustration. He sighed in defeat, and turned back to Dax. "If I go north tonight, could you lead everyone down to the S.T.O.R.M. base or to meet up with my dad?"

"Are you nuts!" Dax exclaimed, not too loudly though, "you almost kick the bucket, and now you want to leave us stranded in the middle of the desert? How are you even going to get back without the Core Tablet anyway? It's not like you can just call up Dr. Suno."

Chase licked his lips nervously. There wasn't a way he would be able to met up with everyone again until after they meet with his dad. Even then, there was no telling if or when that would happen. And if they got in trouble, then he wouldn't be able to help them, and vice versa.

He let out a sigh of defeat, "I guess we'll just have to go to the S.T.O.R.M. base. At least there we know what we're up against with them..."

"You sure that's what you want to do? You seemed very set on finding this... whatever it is, up north," Dax said, a little surprised at Chase's resolve. He honestly didn't want to stop, especially if it was his mother that was leading him, and would much rather go on his own if that's what it took.

"... Everyone else wants to go to the base or leave. So that's what we'll do."

He turned to go back to camp when Dax took a hold of his wrist, "I'm serious though. I don't think we should rely too much on Beyal for directions any more. For all we know he could be influenced by whoever that was."

Chase nodded, "I guess... Until we find out who that was, we should just keep an eye on him." Dax loosened his grip, but continued to look out over the bank of the river. Chase started to walk back to camp. He wasn't entirely sure about not trusting Beyal, but at the same time, he needed to figure out what's up north. That voice sounded so familiar… Not exactly his mother, but not exactly like Beyal either.

He sat back down near the fire. Even though Dax would be on lookout for another hour, Chase still felt a bit on edge. After a moment, he just focused on the fire, watching the flames dance. Slowly, he laid down next to it and closed his eyes.

Just before he fell entirely asleep, he thought he heard someone singing...

DGM

It wasn't long after Chase went to bed, maybe a half hour or so, did Dax wander off on his own. Not too far from the group that they wouldn't hear a big commotion, though it was already far too narrow to summon a monsuno in the part of the canyon he was walking, so the chances of getting ambushed were low. He went up stream for a bit, looking up at the stars glistening through the split of land.

He let out a sigh when he found himself walking further down in thought. This was way too much at the moment. Rogue monsuno, almost losing their leader, Chase wanting them to split up. Not to mention someone trying to attack them at almost every corner like S.T.O.R.M., the Punk Monks, and now these bunch of hooded creeps.

Dax sighed to himself again, "How did I even get involved in all this?" He picked up one of the flatter rocks on the shore, and skipped it on the surface of the water. He never thought he would every be part of something as crazy as monsuno. It was even crazier that he was still around as a part of Team Core Tech.

But then again, Jeredy had offered to help find Dax's mother. _If_ she was still out there.

He picked up another rock, and skipped it farther then the last and landing with a satisfying splash. He honestly had little hope for ever finding her, and would probably go on with his life once he found the inevitable truth about her death. There was a slim chance she was still alive, but after scouring through the badlands all his life, Dax had given up.

That is until he met Dr. Suno.

He was about to pick up another rock, but stopped when he heard the crunch of pebbles from a short distance away. The path curved around the cliff back to the cave, and it was easy to hide around all the different bends.

"I know you're there," he simply stated. There was no response. Carefully, he sidestepped along so his footsteps couldn't be heard as easily. He waited until he heard another footstep, and pounced out around the corner, tackling someone down to the ground with a yelp. Immediately, he panicked when he saw the familiar orange hair.

"Geez, Dax. You're so paranoid!" Jinja said, pushing him off. She dusted off her pants as she stood, frowning at him as she did so, "Just came to say it's my turn for watch duty, but then I couldn't find you at the lookout."

"Oh. Right. Sorry," He said, standing as well. She studied him for a moment, but didn't say anything.

"What were you even doing out here?" Jinja asked, more out of curiosity then suspicion.

"What's it to you?" he said, shoving his hands into his pockets, "Just thinking is all."

"Oh," She said, and awkwardly looked to the ground.

"… Anyway we should probably head back before something happens," Dax said, taking a few steps forward, "By the way, how's Beyal doin?"

"Fine," Jinja frowned, walking ahead of him "Well, his fever hasn't gone, but other then that nothings been happening."

He expected as much. There was always the chance that the _thing _from before would come back and take over the monk. And the last thing they need was to be fighting him, especially since it seemed so fierce.

"And Chase? He's still there?" Dax asked in case Chase wandered off. They started to slowly make their way back, going around another curve in the path. It turns out Dax had wandered a lot farther then he initially thought, not being able to see the campfire at all.

"He's just sleeping. I'm surprised considering how much he got earlier," Jinja said, and suddenly stopped walking.

"… What is it?" He asked, tensing up in case she saw something ahead of them. Instead, she turned back at him.

"It's... just a little weird," she said, a smile forming on her lips.

"What? That Chase is sleeping a lot? I'm surprised that we haven't clocked out either-"

"That's not what I meant," Jinja chuckled, "I meant with you being so caring lately. It isn't like you to be so invested in everyone."

A blush started to form on Dax's cheeks, "Erg... It's not like I'm doing it on purpose. I'd just be bad if one of you passed out or something tomorrow and we get stuck here even longer."

Jinja chuckled a bit, "Yeah I suppose..."

"... Is that all? You seem like you want to say something else" Dax asked, crossing his arms. Jinja turned away a bit. Her eyes fell to the ground as she traced circles with her foot.

"I... Wanted to say. Thanks."

He raised a brow, "What for?"

"Well... You were the one who dragged Chase out of the river," She said earnestly, "And before all this you were looking after the rest of us when he fainted back in the cave when we saw those people."

"Again, just trying to keep everyone in good shape," Dax said. In reality he really didn't do much at all. Why was Jinja putting so much thought into this?

"I know, but lately…" Jinja bit her lip, "It's just that... Chase gets a little frustrating to deal with sometimes. Even when half of us are wanting to go back, he wants to push forward..."

"Oh come now princess. He's not all like that," Dax said, but stopped himself. Why was he even talking to her about Baby Suno? It's not like he actually cared about what Jinja thought about the others.

"Oh he is," Jinja continued, "He's always been the leader type of guy, ever since we were kids."

Dax's gaze lowered. Sometimes he forgot about how the three of them were close friends. Sure the five of them had been getting close this past year, but there were still times he felt like an outcast. He decided it would be best to drop the conversation entirely, and took a step forward so that he and Jinja could get back to the others.

And that's when their lips met.

* * *

A/N: OwO

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	10. Chapter 10

A/N: That last chapter was actually unexpected believe it or not (much like the rest of the story). Thanks to KaimelarTheDreamer, ChasexJinjaForever, Myra the Sark, GlowBlade998, and the two guests for the reviews!

Enjoy!

* * *

He couldn't find them. Somehow Jeredy had lost the signal being given off of the Core Tablet. He rubbed his eyes for the tenth time that night, desperately trying to find his son and the other members of Core Tech. It took him a while, but after he fixed the cracks in Jon's case he immediately got to work intending to find the group within the hour.

Unfortunately, that was four hours ago.

He let out a sigh, looking to the clock that now read twenty past midnight. He built that tablet to go through hell and back, how was it that he could lose a signal so easily? Especially since he and Chase had talked earlier that day before they left into the desert.

…..

_"You got enough water? It shouldn't take too long to be honest," he said to Chase, who was busy checking his cores._

_"I know, I know! Seriously dad, this should be a cakewalk compared to trying to track you down," Chase retorted with a laugh. Jeredy chuckled as well, but grew silent after that, and watched as Chase clipped his cores into his belt. As much as he wished to finally spend time with his son, the safety of their world and the monsuno was the first priority. That was how it has always been after all..._

_"… Was there something else you wanted?" Chase asked, stirring Jeredy from his thoughts._

_"Ah. No," he said, turning to the door, "Just. Make sure to take care of yourselves."_

…..

His eyes lingered on where he last saw the tracker on the Tablet.

"...There is definitely something blocking the signal," he muttered quietly to himself as to not disturb Jon, who had fallen asleep shortly after the commotion died down.

There was a short beep from the computer, and he saw that there was a message sent from the Core tablet. Anxiously, he opened it to reveal the sender as the Tablet. Unfortunately, there was a lot of static that caused skips in the audio.

_"__Dad. We managed to collect the samples of energy... there has been a disturbance in monsuno... may be... of Destiny... unknown monsuno that have attacked us. They don't appear... anyone, but... something wrong..."_

It ended almost immediately, and he had to play it multiple times to try and understand what Chase was trying to say.

What he gathered was that Chase felt the disturbance in monsuno energy, and there were new monsuno out loose. The only people Jeredy could think that would allow such a thing to happen would be either Charlemange or Dr. Klipse. Both of which would only do so as a last resort, and no one knew that he sent the group out. He was very meticulous when it came to that at least.

Pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration, Jeredy immediately went to work on tracking the signal. Maybe he could send the group help.

Or, if it came down to it, go out and help them on his own.

MHP

The Punk Monks set up their camp on the edge of the cliff some ways away from where Suno and his group had washed up. They kept watch throughout the night in case that group decided to leave, which didn't seem likely from the look of things.

"It looks to me like they're planning on ambushing Suno and his crew." Throttle said. Drezz looked over his shoulder. She and the rest of the Punk Monks were looking over the cliff, surveying the area. Drezz went over to the three of them and looked as well. On the farther side of the cliffs he spotted what appeared to be S.T.O.R.M. troops trying to find Suno, dressed in bright white suits.

Even though the good doctor paid them to keep Suno out of S.T.O.R.M.'s hands until they could get a hold of that new monsuno, he wasn't about to go head first into things without a plan. At this point it was better to go unnoticed unless things got bad.

"I'm sure that Suno could handle it," Drezz said, sitting down and leaning back. "I doubt that he'll really need us to swoop in to save him."

"Yo boss," Tinker said, who was looking in the opposite direction.

Drezz let out a sigh, "What is it now?"

"It looks like there's more people after Suno and his crew. They don't look like they're from S.T.O.R.M. though..."

Drezz stood up, and looked over the side, swiping the binoculars from Tinker's hands. Sure enough, there were two people walking around the edge of the cliffs, probably trying to find another way to get the jump on them. They split off from each other, one heading back up the cliffs as the other kept going down.

"Well would you look at that," Drezz said under his breath, "Apparently there's something bigger going on then what the doctor is telling us."

Of course it wouldn't be the first time it happened. As 'trusting' as they were, Dr. Tallis never left tons of vital information with them, only what was necessary. It was a bit insulting to be honest.

"This doesn't change anything," Drezz remarked, tossing the binoculars back, "Keep watch on them. If they pose a threat to Suno, or hinder him from going to S.T.O.R.M., we have to take them out..."

GHL

It was a mistake.

A rather unfortunate mistake that would soon be regretted.

Jinja had intended to give Dax and reassuring hug, or even a quick peck on the cheek. What she wasn't expecting was him to move at the same time she did, now locking their lips together.

She should have been mortified (which she was), and probably should've pushed him away, or even slapped him by now. Yet, even as seconds seemed to turn into hours, she didn't want to pull away.

For some reason it seemed natural. She had only initiated so many kisses in her life (most of which involved clingy grandparents or cheek pinching aunties), but the only ones that were remotely on the romantic side were the two she had given Beyal. But maybe those were just from the heat of the moment, much like this one.

Yet this one felt like so much more. Instead of innocent or sweet, it was intense and made her heart beat thump hard against her chest with adrenaline. The second her lips met with Dax's, it was as if she couldn't pull away.

Luckily, she didn't have to.

Dax had found her shoulders and harshly pushed her away. He had a look of horror on his face, as if she really did slap him instead.

"What do you think you're doing?!" He said. She blinked for a moment, not understanding. He turned away with a blush on his cheeks, hands still gripping her shoulders, albeit shakily, "You... Why would you..."

"... Dax. I..." She took a breath and turned away. What had she just done? Kissed the jerk that had been making fun of them all since he met them, that's what. His reaction spoke as well, and regret about it was starting to well up.

"You know what? Just forget it," She snapped, arms crossing tightly, "It's not like it matters any way."

"Oh. It's like that is it? I'm not up to par for you or something?" Dax scoffed, "Well, I guess I'm sorry for disappointing you if I can't measure up to your little monkfish."

She felt her cheeks redden, both from embarrassment and anger. "What the hell do you even know anyway? You're just some lowland punk who cheats people." She huffed.

"Maybe princess," Dax said, and walking past her, "But at least I am straight with people. You can't even find the gull to out right say your feelings, to _any _of us."

Even when she could hear his footsteps trail away, Jinja didn't turn around, biting her lip in anger. When she couldn't hear his footsteps anymore, she finally started shouting and kicking at the ground.

"Stupid Dax!" She cursed, and finally sat down after a few minutes, panting. She drew her knees up to her chest, holding them as she stared out at the river. Her hands curled around the rocks at her feet, and carelessly threw them into the water.

'Why did I think any differently...' Jinja thought. Once, shortly after they all met, she had thought that maybe there was something else to Dax, that he wasn't just some delinquent from the desert. And that_ maybe,_ he would eventually become their friend. She even tried to get to know him more, but it was obvious he wanted nothing to do with her (or any of them at that point).

She sighed, and continued to watch the stream go by. She wasn't even sure how long she stayed like that, contemplating about that kiss. It was only when she heard footsteps approaching did she look up.

"Oh yeah, Chase's turn for lookout," Jinja muttered. It was then she remembered Dax's last comment. Maybe now was a good time to start talking more instead of blindly going along with what their leader said. After all, deep down Chase was still the reckless little kid she could turn to back when they were younger.

She stood up again, giving one more look to the river before turning. But what she saw made her gasp. Oh she knew Chase's familiar jacket anywhere.

The only problem was that this one was red.

* * *

A/N: Just to be a little clear, I don't really ship anyone in this story. Sure there will be tender moments and such like in the previous chapters, but romance was never a key point in the show, so it isn't the real focus of the story. (It will still be brought up though!)

Review Review Review!


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: Thanks to ChasexJinjaForever, Myra the Sark, KaimelarTheDreamer, and Rezonmon for the reviews!

Enjoy!

* * *

He woke up from the sound of an annoying beeping. Bren groaned as he groped for the Core Tablet. It went silent on its own after a minute, meaning it was probably just low on batteries. He stiffly sat up and lazily put his glasses back on.

"I am so looking forward to a regular bed again," he yawned, stretching out his sore muscles. Usually they would've at least had sleeping bags, or even stayed at some inn, but with all their supplies lost the cold hard ground was their only choice, "What about you Jin?"

He had to blink a few times to realize that the only ones around were Chase and Beyal, who were both still asleep.

"Jinja? Dax?" He called out. There was no response. Where did they go?

'They're probably hitting the can or something,' Bren thought to himself, reaching out to get the Core tablet once more. The noise from before was probably water damage. Maybe it would work better now that it go the chance to dry off. Bren dully glanced down at the screen as it powered on.

That's when he noticed something in the reflection. When he squinted, it almost looked like someone was standing on the cliff above them...

"Tripwire! Launch!"

Suddenly, there was a burst of yellow light erupting from above, followed by a loud splash that left Bren soaked. When he finally wiped his glasses off, Bren was face to face with a rather familiar monsuno.

"Oh crag..."

The beast roared out at him, causing the whole cavern to shake and Bren to fall over. Chase immediately shot up, stumbling to his feet to stand.

"Wha-What's going on?!" He half mumbled half shouted. The second he saw the monsuno, he jumped up and reached for his own. As soon as he got back onto his feet, Bren followed suit.

"Deepsix!"

"Longfang!"

"Launch!"

With a burst of blue light, all three monsuno were now fighting it out in the shallows of the river. There was almost no room outside for them to fight without hitting the sides of the cliff, and every movement caused either a shower of water or the cliffs to quake.

"Bren, try to keep them in the center of the canyon!" Chase shouted, and suddenly had a panicked look on his face. "Wait! Where's Jinja and Dax?"

"I don't know! I just woke up, and the next thing you know I'm face to face with this monster!" Bren exclaimed. The sound of laughter drew their attention. Standing on some of the rock formations on the opposite side was the S.T.O.R.M. Strike Squad.

"Hey there Suno! Ready for a rematch?" Alpha boasted as the rest of his team brought out their cores.

"Only if you're ready to get your ass kicked for the third time!" Chase smirked, "Deepsix, terra torpedo!"

His monsuno roared out before diving down below both the river and the ground, ramming into Tripwire. Although it was more suited for land, Deepsix could still outmatch most monsuno in the water as well.

"Launch!"

Another burst of yellow light, and four more monsuno were clashing with Deepsix and Longfang. They were now seriously outmatched. Bren cast Chase a worrying look, but he was too caught up in the fight. It wasn't until two of the monsuno crashed into the cliffs above them did Bren notice how the cave was now shaking horribly.

"Chase!" He finally pipped up, "The cave could collapse any second, we have to get out of here!"

Bren didn't wait for a reply, and started throwing what little they had left of supplies into his bag. He immediately ran over to Beyal's side, who hadn't awoken, despite all the noise. "C'mon, Beyal! Rise and Shine! Let's go!"

Beyal's eyes slowly eased open. He still had reddened cheeks, and when he sat up he swayed a lot.

"... Bren? What's... going on...?" He huffed out. There was another explosion, and Chase suddenly thrown back next to them. He shook his head for a moment before noticing where he landed.

"Strike Squad, we got to get out of here. You think you can walk?" He asked quickly. Beyal nodded slowly, but struggled to stand. As soon as he got to his feet, his legs gave out. Luckily, Bren caught him before he could fall.

"I think that's a no," Bren retorted, then looked back to the fight. Both Longfang and Deepsix were being thrown about like nothing. Chase growled a bit under his breath, and ran back to give commands.

Sure the Strike Squad was supposedly the best in all of S.T.O.R.M., but when put head to head with all of team Core Tech, they were hardly a challenge.

Unfortunately they were down three, and from the look of things, the Strike Squad wasn't going to let up.

The cave quaked again, and when Bren looked up, Longfang was rolling back into the cliff. It dodged some of the blasts that flew by, but before it could counter, Blockade and Deadfall tackled it to the ground. He wanted to run out and try to help, but still had Beyal slung over his shoulder. Not to mention that Jinja and Dax were who knows where.

"Oi! Suno!"

They both looked up back to Alpha, who was tossing his core absently into the air.

"As much as I like seeing you squirm, you better start getting serious before we take out the whole canyon!"

"Don't worry your pretty head off," Chase smirked, and quickly ran back out into the shallows of the river, "I'm always ready to take you on."

Alpha frowned deeply, and turned to the other members of the Strike Squad. He said something to them, and they all started to give commands to their monsuno. Blockade threw Longfang back at the entrance of the cave towards Bren and Beyal, and hit the ground before disappearing. Bren's eyes were wide. How could they take out his monsuno with only three attacks?

The other monsuno started to barrage the entrance with blasts, making it come down. Immediately, Bren half dragged Beyal further up into the cave, only looking back to see Chase still standing out in the middle of the river. In fact, it almost looked like he didn't even _notice _the cavern collapsing.

"Chase!" Bren shouted over the shower of rocks, but quickly lost sight of him entirely as the entrance was blocked, trapping him and Beyal on the inside of the cave.

Bren quickly ran over to where the entrance once was (half throwing Beyal to the side as he did so), and tried to pry some of the rocks out of the way. He barely moved three before realizing how hopeless it was.

He sank to the ground, knowing that Chase was now facing down the Strike Squad on his own (which also meant that S.T.O.R.M. would most likely be on their way by now). There was also something about the way their monsuno had defeated Longfang so easily that Bren couldn't shake. Was there something wrong with their monsuno? In which case Chase would definitely need back up.

Bren looked at the pile of rocks all around again. He could try to spin out Neo-Quickforce, but would risk having the entire cave collapse since it was much too small. And on top of that, Jinja and Dax were still nowhere to be seen. Unless...

He turned back around. Beyal was sitting on the ground half awake, but was also a few feet away from the tunnel that lead inward. The group had all agreed not to go in (at least until the morning), but at this point it seemed like the only way out.

Or the way that Jinja and Dax had gone.

Bren grumbled a little. He wasn't sure about going blindly into some tunnel without knowing where it went, or even leaving Chase to fight on his own, potentially leaving Jinja and Dax behind as well. But what could he do? Wait for S.T.O.R.M. to come dig them out? There was no way he was going to sit around on the sidelines with his best friend out fighting on his own.

"...Well, let's go," Bren muttered, more to himself as walked back over and half dragged Beyal to his feet up the slope into the tunnel.

HLP

Chase's eyes lingered on the remains of the cave entrance. He knew full well that Bren was capable of getting out (if not him then Beyal), and would only take a few minutes before spinning out a monsuno to break through the rubble. Either that or he would sit tight and wait for the battle to be over. After all, Chase beat Alpha before and would probably have the same result. That and Jinja and Dax should've heard the commotion by now and would be there any second.

"Hey Alpha!" Chase shouted, wadding in the river. He could see the red-haired teen still standing on one of the cliffs, though it looked like it would give out soon.

"So you ready to battle Suno?" Alpha boasted. He jumped down, landing in the deeper part of the river, and emerged ten feet away from Chase. He still wore that smirk as he ran his hands through his wet hair. "What do you think? One on one?"

"Sure why not," Chase said. He could easily take out Alpha's monsuno with Locke, and since he was offering for a one on one, Chase wouldn't refuse. After all, Alpha was the kind of guy to let his pride get the best of him. Even now he would rather go head to head with Chase then outnumber him for an easy victory.

Alpha snapped his fingers, and the rest of his team called back their monsuno. Chase did the same for Deepsix. Now it was just Locke and Tripwire face to face.

"First one to be called back is the loser," Alpha said, and immediately leapt back, "Tripwire!"

"Locke!"

"ATTACK!"

* * *

A/N: Not too happy with this chapter, but will post another tomorrow because things get really good in the next one!

Review Review Review!


	12. Chapter 12

A/N:Thanks to KaimelarTheDreamer, ChasexJinjaForever, and Glowblade998 for the reviews.

Enjoy!

* * *

Man did that girl have to make up her mind. Did she like him or not?

Of course it wasn't like he cared or anything. There were more pressing matters that Dax had to attend to anyway. Like catch a few Z's before they had to head out. The group would have to move out before the sun rose, otherwise they would get caught in the direct heat again.

He stopped when he saw movement in front of him. When Dax looked up, he was face to face with Hargrave.

"Well well well. Look what the cat dragged over," Dax remarked, taking out Airswitch's core. The butler, however, made no moves, and only held out an envelope. Dax eyed it suspiciously, and didn't move.

"Dr. Klipse sends his regards," Hargrave said, handing the envelope to one of his metal claws. It extended out to Dax, who stepped back a little when it came close. It dropped to the ground daintily, but Dax didn't take his eyes off the old man.

"Think of this as a little... _advance_ of information he thought you would find interesting," Hargrace said, and turned his back to leave. Dax didn't stop him. He only looked down at the envelope.

It was large, with a red seal on the back. A bright letter "E" in the middle of it. Dax had half the mind to rip it up right there, or even throw it into the river and let it float by.

Despite his urge to do so, he ripped the top open and deposited its contents.

His eyes widened at the images he saw.

"What is this?!" He demanded. Hargrave stopped, and turned his head with a mild smirk.

"I'm sure that you thought that Dr. Klipse was joking when he said he found your sweet mother, right?" He said, then turned away again, "But rest assure he was being quite serious."

Dax was silent, and didn't stop the old man as he continued to walk away. How could it be? He was there when his mother...

And still, the photos in front of him didn't lie. There she was. In the flesh, with that smile that he could only remember in dreams.

He clenched the envelope in his other hand, gritting his teeth.

That's when the earth started to shake, and he heard a monsuno give out a loud shriek.

HLP

The night couldn't get any worse. First they get stuck in the middle of the desert, then Beyal gets sick, she gives a kiss to Dax.

And now Six has shown up.

"Wh-what do you want?" She demanded. He had a rather passive look on his face, and held his hands up to show he meant no harm, but she wasn't going to take that chance.

"I came here to find Chase Suno and defeat him," Six stated, and then lowered his hands, "for my father."

"Oh, right. Your father," Jinja said, rolling her eyes a bit. No doubt Dr. Klipse having one of his loony experiments again, "Let me guess. He sent you to come get Chase so he can make that monsuno-human hybrid, hm?"

Six shuffled his feet uncomfortably. Jinja did have a menacing stare when she needed it, and man was she letting him have it.

"Actually... I need Chase's help." Jinja raised a brow in suspicion.

"Well... You see. Ever since I lost to him, father has been rather... impatient with me," Six said, staring at his feet, "And I know if I can bring Chase Suno to him, then maybe father will see me differently."

"Trust me buddy. Dr. Klipse isn't the kind of guy to change immediately," Jinja said, waving her hand absently around, "Besides, you're better off without him in your life."

Six was silent at the comment, still looking down at his feet anxiously. "He is all that I've had," he murmured softly, "Sometimes it feels like Chase Suno is taking my father away from me..." His hands clenched into fists, and Jinja watched his reactions like a hawk. If things turned south fast, she wouldn't hesitate to show Six a thing or two.

His hands unclenched, and he looked up with a perplexed look, "What was that by the way?"

"What was what?" She asked, not letting him out of her sight.

"That thing that you and that other boy did a moment ago. Where your lips touched each other," Six said, pointed at his own lips.

"Y-you mean a kiss?" Jinja asked. Six held a serious look before nodding slowly. She honestly had to fight the urge to laugh. Of course Dr. Klipse wouldn't bother explaining the basics of love to his clone. The man didn't have an ounce of it to spare.

"Well... Usually when one person wants to express their strong feelings to another, t-they give them a-a kiss," Jinja explained, twiddling her thumbs as she spoke. Six had a vacant expression as she spoke.

"Were you mad at him?"

"Oh believe me, I am more then mad at him now," Jinja snapped, crossing her arms tightly. If Dax even brings it up once, then he'd be more then sorry.

"So... To express my hate towards Chase Suno, I should kiss him," Six stated.

Now Jinja couldn't hold in her laughter.

"What's so funny?" He asked monotonously as Jinja held her side, bursting with laughter.

"It's- It's nothing!" She giggled out. After a moment, she cleared her throat, "It's just that. Usually a kiss is used to express _love_ and attraction to another person. Not anger."

"Oh... I guess that would warrant laughter," Six said, almost sadly. It got awkwardly silent, and she suddenly had a shard of guilt as she stood there.

Luckily, a sudden explosion ended that silence.

'That sounded close,' Jinja thought, then gasped, 'Guys!'

"What did you do?!" She exclaimed, pulling out Charger's core. Before Six could answer, there was a loud cry in the distance. It sounded like a monsuno, but it wasn't too familiar. Immediately, Six raised his hands defensively.

"N-nothing!" He stammered, "I just came here to find Chase."

There was another boom in the distance, followed by more shrieking.

"I don't mean to fight- that is unless you want to- but only if you want to! But if your going to find him that can wait until later, that is if I can go with you-"

"Agh! I don't have time for you," Jinja said and charged right past Six, ignoring most of his ramblings. When she was a few yards away, she turned back to see that he had not followed her, oddly enough. He just stood where she left him, and continued to watch her for a moment. She got a chill from the lifeless look he was giving her. She almost wanted to go back and battle him, if only to get that annoying look off his face.

The sound of Locke in the distance reminded her of the others, however.

She looked back towards the direction of their camp, and started running forward again. She could still feel Six's eyes lingering on her, but knew that he wouldn't follow. After all, he wasn't looking for a fight. Even when he mentioned Chase, there was some resentment in his voice, but there was also something else.

Something more sorrowful.

* * *

A/N: I had way too much fun writing out Six and Jinja's conversation. Poor guy's just a little lost.

Review Review Review!


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: I had to rewatch a few episodes to figure out the strike squad's personalities a bit better. Their English dubbed voices are pretty decent. Though I can't say the same for Chase or Beyal (I watched most of the episodes in Japanese with a few exceptions). I can't wait to rewrite more of their parts into the story.

Thanks to KaimelarTheDreamer, ChasexJinjaForever, and Myra the Stark for the reviews as always.

Enjoy!

* * *

"Locke! Jaw of Light!"

"Tripwire! Plasma Repeater!"

It had been at least five minutes since Bren had left with Beyal into the cave, which entrance had now collapsed. That just left Chase and Alpha to battle it out in the shallows of the river. For the most part, Locke was winning, if only because of Alpha letting Tripwire out earlier.

"Terra Barrage!" Alpha called out. Tripwire charged up for an attack, but Locke swiftly dodged. It slammed the other monsuno back into the water, giving a roar of victory.

"Told you I could kick your can for the third time!" Chase exclaimed as Tripwire got to its feet and charged back at Locke, both falling into the deeper end of the river. Alpha grit his teeth in anger, seeing the difficulty that his monsuno was having.

"Tripwire! Regroup this way!"

Chase grinned, knowing that his victory was to be expected. As soon as Alpha was taken care of, he could get Bren and Beyal out and go on the lookout for Jinja and Dax.

What he wasn't expecting was the blast that came from above, hitting both of the other monsuno. In a flash of yellow, Tripwire was summoned back.

"Alpha!" Both Chase and Alpha looked up to where the blast came from to see a monsuno with an eerie white glow standing on one of the ledges above them. It almost looked like a wolf, only half of its body was covered in scales that mirrored the light of the moon above it. In one quick motion, it swept down, colliding with Locke in a flurry of white and blue.

"Locke!" Chase called out, but saw Locke slowly being dragged down under into the river. He thrashed about, desperately trying to get out of the other monsuno's grasp. Chase could hear Alpha's teammates calling out to their leader, who was now watching with wide eyes.

Locke burst out of the water, almost landing on both Chase and Alpha as he threw the monsuno off and onto the rubble of the cave entrance. It hissed out at him, before letting out an ear-piercing screech.

"What's going on Chase?!" Alpha yelled out. Chase honestly didn't know how to respond. This was obviously another rogue monsuno, and yet it was different. It's movements weren't as violent, and there was the slightest hesitation when it came to lunging out at Locke. It gave out another hiss before charging at Locke once more. Luckily, it was thrown to the side by Charger.

"Chase!" He looked over to see Jinja running towards him.

"Jinja! Great. We can get out of here," He said, glancing over to the battle still ensuing. On the other side he saw Alpha going back up the cliffs to his other teammates. "Where's Dax?"

For some reason, a blush streaked across Jinja's cheeks, "I- uh... thought he was with you guys." She glanced around, "Wait. Where's Bren? And Beyal?"

"Alpha blasted the entrance to the cave, so they're probably still trapped inside if they haven't gone into the tunnels yet ," Chase said, as Locke gave out a roar when the other monsuno hissed out, "They had us outnumbered, so I challenged Alpha to a one on one battle." He shrugged his shoulders, "As you can see: I won."

Jinja rolled her eyes, "That's great and all, but we need to find the others before S.T.O.R.M. gets here!"

Unfortunately for them, it was too late. Spotlights flashed as the S.T.O.R.M. copters flew overhead, blinding them. Before they new it, S.T.O.R.M. soldiers was swooping down on them.

GLD

He hated walking. Throughout all the time that they had to travel the world, he hated walking. It also didn't help that every so often that Bren would go right into a wall every few minutes as he and Beyal walked through the cave.

Although shortly after a few minutes, Bren had to stop and heave Beyal onto his back so that he was now being awkwardly dragged along. Adrenaline had gotten them a lot farther then he thought, but now he was downright exhausted.

"Man I reaaally, hate this cave," Bren sighed, almost tripping for the tenth time. "Not that you don't already know that."

Beyal didn't respond, and had probably gone back to sleep a while ago. Bren sighed again, looking down at the Core Tablet. He was using the faint light from it as a flashlight, but with the battery almost dead, he wasn't sure whether or not to keep using it, especially since he should be using it as a map instead.

"It feels like we've been walking for hours, doesn't it?" Bren said, and stopped. Ahead was pitch black, leading into the depths of the tunnel even more.

Except it had now skewed into two paths.

"Aww crag," Bren muttered, looking back and forth between the paths. They either lead up and out, or down to nowhere, and there was no difference between the two of them.

"Great. This is just perfect," Bren frowned. He looked down to the Core Tablet, which was now on its last reserve of battery power. The light had dimmed considerably since they had started walking, and now he could barely see his hand in front of him.

"Even better..." He mumbled, letting his arm fall to the side. Now what? Should he keep going farther in? What if he went the wrong way, or Chase goes the other and they all separate? What if he just got them even more lost, or ran into bigger problems then the Strike Squad...

And what about Dax and Jinja? Did Chase meet up with them? Or did S.T.O.R.M. capture them all and were on their way to find him and Beyal?

Bren cursed, and kicked at one of the rocks on the floor. He watched as it kept rolling into the cave. Slowly, he sank to his knees, shoulders sagging in defeat.

"I guess we just wait here and see if they made it out, huh?" Bren said, head dropping down. He felt Beyal shift over his shoulders, mumbling something. Bren picked up the tablet, looking down as the battery continued to run out.

"Bren..." He jumped when he heard the voice right next to him. When he looked over, he could see Beyal looking at him with half lidded eyes. "Where... are we?"

"Nice of you to finally wake up," Bren huffed, "these tunnels supposedly lead back up to the surface. At least, they're supposed to..."

Beyal didn't respond, and slowly slumped onto one of the walls. When Bren looked back, he was holding his head again. Bren let out an exhausting sigh, and looked back down at the tablet, expecting some sort of sign.

Suddenly, there was laughter echoing throughout the cavern, surrounding them from all directions. Bren sucked in a breath, recognizing whose laughter it was.

"_Oh my! It looks like the little mousey are lost in the dark... What a shame..."_

Bren slowly got back to his feet. There was more giggling, but with the light dimming slowly, it was hard to tell where it was coming from. It had been awhile since they saw the lunatic, and it certainly wasn't the best encounter either.

"Dom Pyro."

"_Oh? Does the little mousey want to fight? Too bad there's no room in here!" _Dom Pyro giggled out. Bren took a few steps forward when suddenly there was the sound of something bouncing along the floor. When he looked down, Bren could see something move towards him. Before he new it, electricity was coursing through his body in a blinding flash. He let out a strangled cry, before falling to the ground.

"_Mueheehee! Poor little mousey!_" Dom Pyro chuckled, stepping out into the faint light, his face shadowed in a menacing grin, "Too bad I don't need my pretty-pretty to take you on!"

"Urg... Damn..." Bren panted out. He could barely move now, trying to reach one of his cores. It was a bad idea to spin out in such a small area, but if he didn't do something fast, who knows what Dom Pyro would do to them.

"Ah well... What a poor excuse of a game," He smirked, and glanced over Bren, "So where are all the other mousies? Can't just leave without them eh?" He took a few steps over Bren, and came to a halt. Slowly, Bren tilted his head over to see what he was looking at. Sure enough, Beyal had somehow managed to stand and was staring down Dom.

But even in the slowly dimming light, Bren could recognize that green glow in his eyes from before.

* * *

A/N: Dom Pyro is such a weirdo. Another one of those characters that I had to keep some of his english speech mannerisms because it was so strange.

Review Review Review!


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: Thanks to Rezonmon, KaimelarTheDreamer, and ChasexJinjaForever for the reviews.

Enjoy!

* * *

The troops swooped in quickly, taking everyone by surprise. Alpha watched as they ran past him, almost ignoring his presence. Confused, he backed off a bit towards the cliffs.

"Alpha!" He heard a splash behind him, and the rest of the Strike Squad was behind him. Immediately, Alpha turned with anger.

"How did they get here so fast?" he exclaimed, "Who told them where we were! This was supposed to be _my _rematch!"

None of them said anything, and Alpha cursed. This was now the second time that Charlemange had interrupted his match between him and Chase, and now it was getting frustrating. The only reason he agreed to following them was because he knew that Chase was going to be there, and supposedly it was going to take S.T.O.R.M. at least a whole day to catch up with them.

"Uh... Alpha." He turned around to see Bravo looking sheepishly at his feet. He held out the communicator, "It's Commandant Charlemange."

Alpha pinched the bridge of his nose knowing what was to come, but took it anyway. As much as he hated that vile woman, she was their commander.

"… Ma'am?"

"WHY DID YOU NOT CONTACT ME YET? I 'AVE TROOPS SAYING ZAT ZEY 'AD YOU ON ZEIR MAP, ZITTING AROUND WATCHING!"

Alpha winced at the heavy accented yelling that was blasting in his ear.

"Um... could you repeat that Ma'am?" He asked timidly. He heard Commandant Charlemange huff, and then clear her throat.

"Tell me. Why is it zat when I send you all - the best that S.T.O.R.M. has to offer - to do one task, it takes you all night. But when I send my troops, they get things done within a 'alf 'our?"

Alpha opened his mouth, but couldn't find an answer. It was true that they had been watching over the group for a few hours now, and only attacked when Alpha saw two of his friends wander off on their own. Unfortunately, that was going to be the best time to strike, seeing that no one in the group would leave Chase alone. Alpha's jaw clicked shut.

"... It appears that we no longer need your services for all things concerning Chase Suno," she said, "Report back to base for your next mission. We'll deal with your punishment later."

"B-but Ma'am!" She hung up on him before he could even argue. Alpha stared blankly down at the communicator for a moment, before handing it back to Bravo.

"… So now what do we do?" Tango asked as they all continued to look down at the scene below them. Chase and his friends were fairing decently between the soldiers and the monsuno that appeared out of nowhere, but it probably wouldn't last much longer. Alpha brushed past them all, intending on scaling back up the cliffs.

"What else? Go back to S.T.O.R.M. of course," he grumbled. Charlemange would most likely be going down to the Southern base to collect Chase and-

Alpha stopped, and took one last glance back. Among the chaos he could see Chase and his other friend trying to get past everyone as the other monsuno continued to rage on.

"Where is the rest of Team Core Tech?" Alpha said. His team members blinked, and looked back in realization as well. He remembered the other two, who were probably weaving through the tunnels if not sitting behind the barrier of rocks. But what about the fifth member?

"They're probably hiding somewhere like a bunch of cowards," X-Ray said and shrugged. The rest of them silently agreed and continued their way towards the farther helicopters.

"C'mon Alpha," Kilo said, taking his shoulder, "the sooner we get back to the base, the sooner we can get Charlemange's lecture out of the way."

Reluctantly, Alpha let himself be led away by his teammates, casting one last glance over his shoulder in hopes that _maybe_, Chase would get away. If only for a third chance at a battle.

DLM

"Freeze! Don't move!" Soldiers flanked them on all sides, giving Chase and Jinja no way out. Locke was still engaged in battle with the other monsuno, which didn't acknowledge the presence of the troops, despite their massive numbers.

"Chase. What now?" Jinja whispered, holding up her hands when the soldiers held up their weapons.

"Stop talking and put your cores on the ground!" One of the soldiers demanded, raising his gun a little. Jinja felt sweat start to form on her brow, but slowly edged her hand down to her belt.

"...Well? Chase?" When she turned, she could see him looking around at the top of the cliffs, almost as if he was seeing something that wasn't there.

"… Chase!"

"Look out!"

There was a gust of wind, and the troops around them were gone. When Jinja looked, the wolf-like monsuno had thrown Locke straight into some of them, and charged right into the rest. The soldiers were now frantically trying to take the beast down, interest lost in Chase and Jinja. She took the opportunity as a chance to run.

"Chase, let's go!" she said, and motioned Charger over to them, "Quick, we have to get through to the tunnel- Chase?"

Suddenly, he took off towards the cliffs that the Strike Squad was previously occupying.

"Let's go!" Chase exclaimed, running through the chaos. Jinja ran after him, staying close on his heels as stray blasts went whizzing through the air. The other monsuno had finally noticed the soldiers, and was now actively fighting against all of them. Locke, on the other hand, was struggling to get back up.

"Locke! Return!" Chase shouted and held out Locke's core, and he disappeared into a blue flash back into the core. Jinja quickly followed suit with Charger. It was better to draw less attention to them and their monsuno when the soldiers already had their hands full. Chase kept running, and Jinja struggled to weave around the chaos as stray blasts would come whizzing by.

Just when they almost got out of the shallows and over to the shore, there was the click of a gun from behind them.

"Not so fast!" Jinja turned, only to be struck by one of the guards. Falling into the water with a splash, she could barely make out the figures looming above them. She could also hear Chase try to struggle, but saw more quick movements and then he was silenced.

In the haze of her eyes, Jinja could also see the soldiers swarming around the other monsuno. It continued to hiss out at them, but was cornered by another dozen troops. Cords and nets were launched at it, thrashing and turning to escape.

The rest of her vision was obscured by a blindfold, and she was yanked and pushed along, hardly able to walk on her own. There was shouting and monsuno cries in the background, but could hardly tell if they had caught the beast. After a moment, she could hear the roar of a helicopter, and knew that she and Chase would be on their way to the S.T.O.R.M. base.

* * *

A/N: Story's picking up again!

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	15. Chapter 15

A/N: These chapters are getting harder to put out, just because I revise them many times over and have needed to change things from the original story. I have to thank everyone extra lots this time if only because it gives me more motivation to keep it up.

Thanks to Myra the Sark, ChasexJinjaForever, and KaimelarTheDreamer for the reviews!

Enjoy!

* * *

The sun was barely coming over the horizon when Dax had reached the other entrance to the series of tunnels. It was clear from the way the S.T.O.R.M. helicopters circled the area that they were looking for someone. He wasn't sure if they were looking for him, the rest of Team Core Tech, or something else entirely.

Oddly enough, the creepy butler was willing to direct him in the right direction of the rest of the team, avoiding S.T.O.R.M. and arriving at the cave quickly. It was strange that Klipse would want the team to stay together, especially since all the times they encountered the man he tried to take on Chase alone or use his tricks to separate them. When he was a few feet away from the entrance, he glanced inside to see that no one was in sight.

Of course he wasn't about to go charging right in, especially since Hargrave was the one to give him directions. There could be an ambush waiting for him after all, or he would just get lost since he didn't have anyone to track. He also didn't have a light with him, so he would pretty much be walking blindly throughout the maze below.

'Nothing to do but wait I suppose,' he though, taking a seat under the shade of the cave. After looking out to see that he wasn't followed, not even seeing the butler, he settled down in case the rest of the team really did show up. Five minutes passed before he glanced down at the photos that he still held.

One of them was a picture of him and his mom back before the war they got caught up in. He never had many pictures of the two of them to begin with, or even with his father. But he could recognize his own face hidden under baby fat and rounded eyes. His mom was standing next to him, and had an intense air to her stance as she smirked at the camera. Intimidating, but Dax found it comforting.

The next two photos were more recent shots. His mother definitely looked older, but not by many years. She still had that overbearing presence, but had a hint of tiredness in her eyes. The background was unrecognizable, but was in some sort of city. One of the pictures had her standing near a train station, the other in a cafe.

Dax traced the edges faintly with his finger tips, letting them curl when they reached the corners.

"... Mother."

There was a noise from above, and he saw the S.T.O.R.M. helicopters soar overhead. They moved towards the horizon, and it took Dax a moment to realize that they were moving in two different directions. He watched for a moment as one headed for the south and the rest went towards the north. Faintly on the horizon, he could make out the outline of a town, most likely a port.

'Why would they all be going in that direction?' Dax thought. Only one went back, meaning they had found _some _reason to go back. On the other hand, the rest of the 'copters were probably searching for Team Core Tech, which meant there was a good chance that Chase and the others had gotten away.

The echo of footsteps sounded throughout the cave entrance. Immediately, Dax pocketed the photos he was still holding, slowly standing. He continued to look, not seeing anything in the dark depths of the tunnel. He edged to the side, just in case it was a S.T.O.R.M. soldier, or worse.

There was the sound of someone tripping and a small squeak, and then a string of curses and complaining. Dax let out a sigh, and stepped out.

"Took you long enough, Glasses."

Bren stumbled out of cave, dust covering his front and patches of his face. His hair was even more disheveled then before, and there were dark circles starting to form under his eyes.

"Yeah. Yeah," He huffed. "You wouldn't do any better if you had to stumble along in the dark with barely a few hours of sleep."

Dax frowned, looking over Bren's shoulder, "Where's everyone else?"

"Chase stayed behind to take on the Strike Squad. We didn't know where you and Jinja were, so we ran into the cave."

Dax raised a brow, "We?"

"Me and Beyal," Bren said, looking back into the cave, "Uhh... He _was_ behind me... Beyal? You in there?"

Dax went inside, stepping carefully as to not trip like Bren did. He took a few steps before his foot nudged something. When he looked down, he recognized the familiar coat.

"Dom Pyro!"

Sure enough, the crazed man was lying face down on the ground, hands cuffed behind him. When Dax nudged him with his foot again, he let out a groan.

"Oh yeah. Forgot to mention that," Bren said, lightly scratching his cheek, "He snuck up on us when we were half way through. We were just lucky that Beyal managed to knock him out."

Dax bent down so he could get a better look at the insane man."Monkfish did this?" he asked, surprised. When he flipped him over, Dom Pyro had a face that was turning purple from bruises. There was no way that Beyal could do this, even if it was self defense. The only way he would do such a thing would be because of that... _thing_ from before.

"Surprising isn't it?" Bren laughed, "I wouldn't have believed it if I wasn't there myself- Oh look! There he is now."

Dax's eyes shot up immediately. He could make out the faint outline of the white-haired boy slowly stumbling through the dark.

"... Bren? Dax?" He asked nervously. When he came closer, his eyes didn't hold the vicious look from before, only panic. Dax let out a sigh of relief.

"What's going on?" Beyal asked, scratching his head.

"What do you mean 'what's going on'? Don't tell me you don't remember flipping through the air, throwing punches, and taking out Dom Pyro in a blink of an eye?" Bren said, shrugging. Dax ignored him, and walked up to the monk. Gently, he put a hand on his shoulder.

"You alright there Monkfish?"

Beyal continued to scratch his head in thought, looking to the ground with an uneasiness, "I... think so... What were we doing again?"

Just then, Dom Pyro let out a loud groan, followed by a few mumbles. He slowly lifted his head, struggling to move his arms.

"Urg... Why does my head hurt..." He moved his arms, but turned in shock to see the handcuffs, "W-What?! Since when did the mouseys get the jump on me?!"

"Save it, ya lunatic," Dax said, and walked over him, "C'mon. We gotta meet up with the others."

"Wait, so Chase and Jinja aren't with you?" Bren asked. Dax stopped at the mention of the other two members of Team Core Tech. While he didn't know exactly where Chase was, he was sure Jinja was still somewhere in the area.

… But then again, after the conversation he and Chase had the night before, Dax believed that Chase had probably decided to go North on his own. Dax let out a sigh at the thought, knowing that it would just be a pain trying to track down both their leader and the princess.

"Well… I don't know exactly where the others are," Dax admitted, and peeked out the tunnel a bit, "But I got a general idea."

He turned back to the two of them, and saw Bren frowning. He had an unsure look on his face, but wasn't objecting. Beyal, on the other hand, was kneeling down next to Dom Pyro, curiously looking at him. At the attention, Dom Pyro started getting nervous.

"W-what are you looking at?!" he said, trying to hide the fear in his voice.

"… Did I… do that..?" Beyal asked, really to himself.

"Just you wait! Once I get a hold of my pretty pretty I'll pay you back tenfold!" Dom Pyro started to shout. Bren and Dax exchanged looks before Bren walked next to them and nudged at Beyal's shoulder. Slowly, he stood up, giving an uneasy glance back at the crazed man before following along.

"W-Wait! You're not just going to leave me here are you?!" Dom Pyro shouted more, starting to flail helplessly on the ground.

"For a matter of fact," Bren started, giving him a smirk, "Yeah. We are."

As they made their way out into the desert, they could still hear Dom Pyro cursing at them. Dax was too keen on the idea of leaving the strange man behind, but it was safer to leave him behind, especially if he really was followed by Hargrave.

GLM

The screen was blaring with all different colors. Statistics and graphs littered across it in a blinding streak. Commandant Marshall Charlemange was clenching her gloved hands in rage. Suno and his groups and somehow managed to slip away, making the raid entirely useless.

The only good thing that came out of it was the new monsuno that they had captured a few hours ago. It was being kept down south for almost a full day now, but there has been little information given about it.

"Get me Commander Trey!" She exclaimed. More buttons were tapped, and soon she was face to face with the commander.

"Ma'am!" He saluted.

"Make sure zat zee monsuno is given full attention! Don't let it out of your sight until I get zere!" She commanded, turning her back with the sweep of her coat.

Commander Trey hesitated for a moment, "About that-"

Slowly, Charlemange turned with a sour look, "... Is zere something wrong, Commander?"

"Well... Actually. Things are much better then you think," He said, a slight smile appearing on his face. Charlemange turned back, crossing her arms.

"Go on."

"You see. We actually managed to take Chase Suno and one of his friends into custody as well. They are on their way to the base along with the new monsuno."

Charlemange's lips curled into a twisted smile, "I see... Well. In zat case, make sure you give _him_ full attention before I get their. Sweep the area for zee rest of his little group. I'm sure zat they 'ave not gone far."

"Ma'am."

"One last thing," She said, bringing up the map of the area, "Which one of his little friends did you capture?"

"The girl Ma'am." Her smirk quickly disappeared.

"I see... Zat is all!" After another salute, Commander Trey disappeared in a blink.

She had been hoping that the reckless street rat would be the one to be taken into custody. They had unfinished business to attend to after all. And that was one of the few things on her list of priorities.

"Commandant Marshall!" A troop said, running up to her and saluting.

"What is it?"

"The troops have picked up tracks leading out into the desert. They seem to be leading east. There are quite a few, actually."

Charlemange put a thumb to her lip in thought. At least three of them should belong to Suno's group. And even if they didn't, the soldiers were combing through the area and would find them eventually.

"Send a squad to follow zem. Make sure zey are prepared for a fight," she said. The soldier gave another salute, and darted off into the hallway. She turned back to look over the control deck. It would only be a few more hours before they get to the base, and there were even fewer places for the rest of them to hide.

* * *

A/N: Review Review Review!


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: Going to be gone till December 3rd, so here's an extra chapter for the week.

Thanks to KaimelarTheDreamer, ChasexJinjaForever, and Myra the Sark for the reviews!

Enjoy!

* * *

It didn't take too long for Hargrave and Six to get out of the canyon and around towards the tunnel entrance. They had scoped out the area most of the night before planning out their next actions, and knew all the twists and turns to get out quick while avoiding S.T.O.R.M. Now it was just a matter of time of finding Dom Pyro.

Hargrave grumbled under his breath at that last thought. When Dom Pyro didn't show up at the meeting spot, the butler knew that he either got into trouble or was having way too much fun with his task. The crazed man tended to be a nuisance rather than helpful in the past, but now he was pushing it.

Strangely, Six was even more silent then usual. Sure he wasn't the most talkative, but he would at least say _something,_ if only a threat to Chase Suno and his friends. Earlier, Hargrave had to go out a search for the teen after leading the desert punk to the tunnels. He found Six at the meeting spot, though he had a strange urge to find Chase Suno. Not to fight him like before though, just to… _talk._

Now he was simple trailing behind, almost wistfully.

There was a noise in the distance, and when they finally got to the top of the cliffs, they found that it was a string of curses was emanating from the tunnel entrance. Hargrave sighed at the sound.

"Well well. It looks like _someone_ was successful, hmm?" he said out loud as he approached the cave. He heard shuffling inside, signaling that the person inside heard him.

"Clockwork man! Untie me now!"

Hargrave looked inside to see a writhing Dom Pyro on the ground, obviously trying to escape his own handcuffs. The butler tutted at the foolishness of the man and took a few steps inside.

"Failed again have you? I don't see why Dr. Klipse keeps you around," he said, stepping a few feet away from the man on the ground.

"It wasn't my fault this time! My pretty pretty couldn't get the sneaky little mouseys!" Dom Pyro defended, "Now get these off so that I can pay them back!"

"Shouldn't you be able to do something as simple as lock pick your own handcuffs?" Hargrave laughed mockingly, but extended his metal claws to take apart the cuffs. Because of the way that the cuffs were designed, he started drilling through one of the metal holsters instead of the extremely short chain.

"Don't get smart with me old man!" Dom Pyro snarled over the sound of metal, "I could easily snap you in half with my pretty pretty!"

One of the cuffs popped off, and the metal arms were drawn away. Don Pyro quickly twisted around till he was sitting, rubbing where the metal was scraping his wrist. The other cuff was still on, and he started clawing at it in an attempt to get it off.

"Quite the barbarian aren't you," Hargrave said, somewhat in disgust. He never did like the man. Much too uncivilized in his methods.

"You're one to talk old man," Dom Pyro growled, "Over there with your metal arms and and shiny things. You need to get your hands dirty once in a while!"

Hargrave rolled his eyes and turned to walk out of the cave. As soon as they get back to the lab, he was going to make sure that Dr. Klipse send the insane man far away on another mission. "And I suppose this means that you couldn't get a hold of the _item_ that Klipse was talking about?"

Dom Pyro got silent, and grit his teeth.

"It was little white-haired mousey that got in the way," he said lowly, and snapped the remaining cuff off in anger, "As soon as my pretty pretty gets a hold of them, that one will get a special place in my collection-"

Hargrave sighed at the crazed man's threats and started walking out a the cave. He wasn't about to concern himself with what the mercenary was rambling about, especially if it hindered on the mission at hand. It was bad enough with the clone, and now it was like watching over two incapable-

He stopped. Slowly, he looked around the cave, and then back to the entrance. He cursed and ran out see the vast desert for miles. Six was gone.

"Damn!" Hargrave cursed again, and turned to Dom Pyro, "This is your fault!"

"Oh? Can't keep your eyes on the brat your babysitting? Poor old man," Dom Pyro said with a smirk and clasped his hands together, "Looks like you'll have to tell Klipse about your little blunder eh?"

"Whatever," Hargrave dismissed, walking out a few feet to contact Klipse, "Besides, if I'm reporting anything, I'm reporting _your_ little blunder."

Pulling up his tablet, Hargrave started clicking a few buttons. As far as any of them were considered, Six was the least of their worries. He wasn't exactly fit to take care of himself out in the desert, and would probably be looking for them after a few hours. If not, he would be searching high and low for Chase Suno and his group and finish what Dom Pyro was suppose to start. Regardless, Dr. Klipse would certainly be upset in one way or another.

The tablet beeped annoyingly, and he looked down. The signal to Dr. Klipse wasn't connecting for some reason. Hargrave thought for a moment before looking up the number of a certain mercenary. One he knew that was in the area, and one that would solve their problem.

GDP

"... Dammit," Jeredy cursed under his breath. The new monsuno energy had really messed up his system, and it was clear that it would take at least a few days before the system would be up and running again. He was able to make contact with some of his hidden labs throughout the world, yet he still couldn't pinpoint Chase's location.

"Out of all of my inventions, the Core Tablet is the one that is supposed to last through thick and thin. There's no way it would be so faulty…"

His eyes lingered once again in the desert. It was much too large for him to scour on his own, and Jon Ace was still in no condition to be moved outside of the containment field, even with the orb that Chase had given him.

"Time… I need more time!" He said under his breath. He heard a noise and looked up to see Jon waking up. He let out a low groan, slowly stretching in the small space.

"Sorry Jon. If there was a bigger train, then it wouldn't be so uncomfortable," Jeredy said, and turned back to the screen. Since he couldn't get a hold of Chase, he might as well try to speed up the process to cure Jon.

Going over to another screen, Jeredy clicked on a few files before scripts and graphs popped on the screen. He had done a bit of research when Chase had last visited and given him the Crystal with the monsuno essence, but it was difficult to tell exactly what would happen, especially with Jon at an unstable condition. Regardless, they were out of options.

Soon, Jeredy found himself being engrossed in the readings surrounding the strange energy. Chase was right when he said it had special properties, but whether it would be helpful was another thing. The crystal was most likely a piece of the original meteor that had infused the Earth with monsuno essence, which explained the raw energy. Except this energy was much more pure then the samples that Jeredy had collected so far. It was also a lot more stable then those samples, which explained why Chase had reacted so strongly to it.

He continued testing, comparing samples and sources and diving further into the physical makeup of the small fragment. Minutes soon turned to hours as he continued analyzing further.

Suddenly, the train lurched, and the lights flickered. Jeredy wrote it off as the sudden weather changes. While he was currently traveling in the tropical regions, the temperatures had started to drop for some reason. That would be the next thing he would have to look into. Jon had started to get antsy in the container again.

"Calm down, Jon. I'm sure it's just- AH!"

The train came to a sudden halt, knocking Jeredy and Jon to the ground. Jon gave out a short cry, that turned into a low growl.

"Ugh. Sorry Jon," Jeredy said, "There's probably something on the main line. I'll go check."

Jeredy started to bring up the main controls of the train to see what was going on, when in the reflection of the screen, he could see a pair of large, glowing eyes staring out at him through the train window.

HLP

"Any news on our little friend Chase?" Dr. Klipse said, lightly tapping his finger on his armrest. Hargrave had just contacted him not too long ago, although it was hard to get a signal on him, and there was static feedback that he had never heard before.

"I'm afraid not sir," Hargrave said, "But I did manage to deliver that _package_ that you wanted."

A smile crept onto Dr. Klipse's lips, "I see. Then I suspect that everything will run smoothly yes?"

"... About that sir," his butler started, and shuffled a bit, "You see Six, unfortunately, has run off once again. It seems he had brief contact with one of Chase Suno's group, but it is hard to tell what exactly he revealed to them."

Dr. Klipse was silent. Six had become increasingly disobedient throughout the time that he had encountered Chase Suno, and it was obvious that there was something troubling his clone. He swore he had gotten rid of those insecurities, but it appears that he was mistaken. He would have to correct his shortcomings soon.

"There is also something else, sir," Dr. Klipse looked up, "It seems that Charlemange has captured Chase Suno, and the rest of them have taken out Don Pyro at one point."

"Do you have a pin on their location?" Dr. Klipse asked, mouth now set in a frown.

"I'm afraid I have to attend to... Uh... Your _son_ for the moment, seeing as how he ran off," Hargrave said. Dr. Klipse scoffed. Typical clone.

"Still," Hargrave continued, "I had set up a safety net ahead of time, and _they_ will be in contact with you within the hour."

"Excellent. In the mean time, try to locate where they took Suno. I'll be there shortly," Dr. Klipse said. Hargrave gave a small bow before disappearing from the screen. He wasn't afraid of making himself known, especially to Charlemange. The woman may have an iron grip on the militia of S.T.O.R.M., but she was far from having an iron grip on the rest of the world.

What Klipse was concerned about was Six and his need for attention. He was the least defective of the clones, and yet he was disobeying Klipse in more ways then one. All within the past month.

'I guess I'll just have to deal with him when I go get Suno,' Dr. Klipse though, turning Backslash's core in between his fingers.

* * *

A/N: For those that don't remember what Jeredy is talking about, refer back to the end of the episode "Knights" when Chase wins the Crystal of Tav Kagah against Alpha.

Review Review Review!


	17. Chapter 17

A/N: Came back a day early, so here you go. Chapters will be getting steadily longer from here on.

Thanks to ChasexJinjaForever, Myra the Sark, KaimelarTheDreamer, and Rezonmon for the reviews.

Enjoy!

* * *

The ocean was starting to come into view, having a serene look as the sun rose in the distance. The Strike Squad sat silently in the ship as it took off that morning, going farther down south and away from the desert. Most likely, they would be going back to their home base and wait until another mission arose. Normally it would've been a good thing, except...

The ship swayed suddenly, hitting turbulence for a whole minute. The group had to hold fast to their seats for a moment before the ship evened out.

"... Damn. You would think they could steer a cargo ship better, eh?" X-Ray retorted.

"It can't be helped if they kept all the good ships and more experienced members of S.T.O.R.M. behind," Kilo said shrugging, "After all. That monsuno back there looked mighty fierce."

The ship swayed again, and they all gripped tightly to their seats as it rocked. It took another minute before calming.

"I just wish these pilots could be a bit more experienced, seeing that we're about to go over the ocean soon," X-Ray grumbled. Tango crossed her arms and gave a scoff.

"... If you ask me, skill definitely beats experience," she huffed, "We could easily capture that monsuno-"

"But _we_ didn't." They all jumped when Alpha had finally said something during the whole trip. They quieted down and cast their eyes to their feet. Alpha gripped his hands together, knowing that it was because of his stupid idea that got them sent back without so much as another thought. This was the second time, and now they would probably never get put on another serious mission.

"If anything we should've just pushed our way through," Bravo said, "Don't we get higher authority in certain situations?"

"I'm sure the soldiers back there were told by Commandant Marshall Charlemange to ignore whatever we had to say," X-Ray pipped up, "It wouldn't have mattered. That probably would've been seen as treason."

"Oh come now," Tango said leaning back, her arms still crossed tightly, "Commandant Marshall hand picked us all herself. We all swore our loyalty to her and S.T.O.R.M., so she really had nothing to worry about."

Alpha looked out the window, now loosing interest in his squad's conversation. He stared off for a few hours until it was about noon. He sighed in relief, they were almost out of the wretched desert.

The ship rocked violently. Turbulence again. One of the emergency lights went off from above, illuminating them with red light.

"What's-"

A shrilled cry from outside the ship, and when Alpha looked outside, a large, white blur flew past the window. The ship swayed even more violently, making everyone yelp at the sudden movement. It took well over ten minutes for the crew to get it stable, alarms blaring and lights flashing.

"Wh-what the heck was that?!" X-Ray stuttered.

"Probably another ship or something," Bravo said, "These idiots can't steer anything."

Tango suddenly let out a chuckle, "I'm sure that even _you_ could steer better."

"Exactly- Hey!"

Alpha kept his eyes fixed on the window. That large shadow... That wasn't another airship, plane, or helicopter at all. Much too quick. He walked up and looked in one of the back windows and saw that it was a bird. A very_ large _bird. That only meant-

"Monsuno," he stated. Everyone turned to him.

"What?"

"A monsuno," he repeated, and turned to the rest of them, "It was a monsuno."

They looked at him with blank expressions.

"What do you mean a monsuno? There's no reason for anyone to spin out. Especially since it came from the ocean," Kilo said. Alpha shook his head slowly.

"No. I'm sure of it," he said, and looked back out the window, "And I'm sure that it looked like the other one from before_._ White. Colorless. No one in control."

"Are you sure? What if someone was riding it?" Kilo asked. X-Ray let out a weird laugh.

"Like someone could ride a monsuno across the ocean. There's no way it could last that long," he said.

"..No," Alpha said, shaking his head slowly, "It's like that one we saw before S.T.O.R.M. showed up. You guys saw how there wasn't anyone around."

The group exchanged looks, unsure of what to say. Finally, Bravo turned to him.

"So... what do we do?" He asked. Alpha looked down to his hands. What do they do? It's not like they can oppose Charlemange's orders. But if S. .M. was looking for those monsuno, then this could be the chance to redeem themselves.

"Alright, I got a plan," Alpha said, and huddled closer to the group, "We have to find out where that monsuno came from. There's a good chance that there's a source of monsuno energy there."

"Wait. How do you know about how monsuno energy is made? It can't be that simple," Kilo said skeptically.

"It actually is," X-Ray said, leaning back a little, "Commandant Marshall Charlemange once spoke about a well that had unlimited amounts of monsuno essence pouring from it. She saw it with her own eyes. Except..."

"... Except?" Alpha asked, eagerly.

"Except Suno of course," X-Ray shrugged, "The well was destroyed. Along with the entrance to it." Alpha let out a sigh. Of course Chase had something to do with it. Still-

"That can't have been the only one. There has to be more sources out there," Alpha continued, "And if we find one, I'm sure that Charlemange would give us another chance! C'mon guys, we don't have anything to lose!"

"Except our jobs and home," Tango frowned, "Look. I get that your upset over your little brawl with Suno, but the last thing we need is to get on Commandant Marshall's bad side and lose everything we worked hard for."

Alpha bit his lip. As much as he wanted to get back at Suno, his squad member was right. One more outburst and they would be kicked to the curb. Charlemange was ruthless like that.

The ship's swaying stirred him from his thoughts again. It jerked and threw them all in the air for a split second before going up.

"What the hell is up with these pilots?!" X-Ray exclaimed, "Can't they even fly a basic four-engine cargo ship-"

The ship came to a sudden halt, and they were all sent flying up to the cockpit. When he looked out to the front window, Alpha gasped when he realized why.

A white wolf-like monsuno was now looking through the glass, claws digging into the front. Without warning, it opened it's mouth and let out a beam of light that was sent flying at the group.

HLP

The sun was now bearing down on the three of them in an intense wave of heat. It also didn't help that, without their bags, they had no way of storing water. The small group had been walking for most of the morning, and while they had not encountered any monsuno or S.T.O.R.M., none of them had seen Chase or Jinja.

At the moment, Beyal was more troubled about what happened in the past day then their current situation. When he tried to think back to what happened, there were many blank spaces in his memory. There were bits and pieces, but he could hardly recall any of it. At any other time he would've meditated over it, trying to get the answers and think more clearly.

But at the moment, they had to focus on finding the others.

"Geez Dax. Why couldn't we keep going down the creek? It's too hot out here!" Bren complained, holding the Core Tablet above his head as both a makeshift shade and to charge it.

"Because," Dax sighed, a wiped his brow, "S.T.O.R.M. was looking all up and down the river back there, and would probably spot us as soon as we step foot down there."

"But the second they see us out here we have nowhere to go!" Bren said, frowning. Beyal had to agree with Bren, but didn't find the need to voice it. When he woke up (at least what felt like waking up), Bren and Dax explained that S.T.O.R.M. had shown up sometime in the night and had either caught Chase and Jinja, one of them, or neither of them. For some reason or another, Dax was now leading them towards a town that was getting ever so closer.

"No, because what they're looking for, are those monsuno," Dax said, still walking ahead, "That's the only reason they're out here after all. We just happened to be in the area."

Bren stopped walking, and Beyal ended up walking into him. He was about to apologize when he saw the look that Bren was giving Dax.

"... Bren? Is something wrong?" he asked.

"Wait a second Dax. How do you know what S.T.O.R.M. is looking for?" Bren asked suspiciously. Dax stopped, and turned around. His expression was unreadable for a second, before it turned more casual.

"Eh... Lucky guess. After all, isn't that what they're always after?" he said shrugging lightly, "now c'mon. We better get out of this heat before S.T.O.R.M. decides to start coming this way."

Bren wasn't entirely convinced from the look on his face, but kept walking anyway. Beyal stood for a moment, pondering a bit. Bren, after all, never did place his full trust in them, even after all these months. Beyal bit his lip when he tried to think back to the past few hours, maybe there was something that happened within the time that made Bren more suspicious. All he could think about was what happened to the rest of the group.

Did they really get split up by S.T.O.R.M. like Bren had said? And what about Don Pyro? Apparently he had taken the man down single handedly, so why couldn't he remember? Just trying to recall everything was making his head spin even more...

He reached down to his belt and took a hold of Glowblade's core, letting his fingers graze against the glass. There was an unsettling feeling coming from inside, though it was hard to tell from what. It was almost as if Glowblade was trying to get out, or even warn him.

"... Hey! Beyal! Hurry up!" He looked up quickly to see that the other two were far ahead.

"Oh. Coming!" He called back, putting Glowblade back on his belt. They continued to walk for what felt like hours, when it could have easily been minutes. Within that time, Dax had stripped himself of his jacket, tying it around his waste and was left in a tank top. Beyal simply flipped his cloak's hood up and over his head for shade. Bren on the other hand...

"Ugh! I don't like the look of those vultures," Bren grumbled, looking up at the four birds that were now circling overhead. His face and neck had gotten extremely red within the time they were walking, and he refused to take his jacket off so the rest of his body wouldn't end up the same. But that just left him with sweat drenching his clothes. What's more, he seemed even more stressed.

"Just ignore them, they'll pass when they see something dead," Dax said. He didn't seem quite as bothered by the desert heat. After all, he did grow up in a similar climate, even if it was a few degrees cooler.

"... They seem awfully high up," Bren continued, staring up as they kept walking.

"It's fine."

"... I wonder how big they are if they're so far up-"

"Not that big."

Bren kept staring, still holding the Core Tablet above his head, despite it being fully charged at this point. With a peeked curiosity, Beyal looked up as well while Bren continued to ramble on.

"I don't think I've ever seen a vulture before up close-"

"They're not that great."

"... I wonder what they'll do if we die out here-"

"Would you stop focusing on the damned birds already, Glasses!" Dax snapped and they all stopped for a moment. It was amazing that he lasted so long without a melt down with Bren talking, "We're not going to die out here. The town's literally a few miles ahead of us. We just have to muscle through it."

"... That's easy for you to say," Bren grumbled when Dax started to walk again.

Dax let out a sigh and turned around.

"Listen. You may not have had to deal with this type of situation before, but the only way we'll get out of this is if we keep going. There's no way around it," Dax said bluntly. Bren continued to pout regardless. It was then that Beyal noticed that one of the birds didn't look quite like the others.

"Um... guys-"

"I can still complain can't I? It's not like I'm hurting anyone."

"Your hurting my sanity is what your doing," Dax retorted, and scratched his neck, "Well. What's going to be left of it."

"I can't help it if the situation you put us in is now leading us to our untimely death," Bren said, a bit hysterically, "With those scavengers just waiting for us to drop!"

Beyal squinted, and saw that the other birds had flown away, while the other bird was getting larger. No. Not larger. _Closer._

"Uh... Guys. There really is something up with the bird-"

"Stay out of this monkfish," Dax snapped, and turned back to Bren, "You didn't have to follow me you know. At any time you could've suggested something other route. Or is it you can't do anything without you precious little tablet?"

Bren immediately clung to the device, "That has nothing to do with it!"

There was a shrilled cry from above, and Beyal ran towards the other two, pushing them right over a large sand dune and making them all tumble down just as a giant shadow soared close by.

"Monkfish what the hell!" Dax exclaimed when they reached the bottom.

"I really don't think _that_ is a vulture," he said, pointing up at the sky. When the other two looked up, they gasped when they saw the familiar shape of an owl diving back down at them.

"Crap! Let's go!" Dax shouted, and bolted off. Bren fumbled with the Core Tablet, but jumped to his feet before charging after him. After a moment, Beyal took off after them. This was probably a rogue monsuno that the others were talking about. The last time that happened, he heard a strange ringing, almost like a voice, before falling unconscious.

_"..."_

The monsuno screeched before letting out bursts of air from its wings. The three boys were picked up off their feet from behind and tossed into the mounds of sand.

"Bleh! Stupid desert!" Bren spat, and took ahold of Neo-Quickforce's core.

"W-wait a sec Glasses!" Dax said, taking a hold of Bren's wrist before he could spin out, "The last thing we need is S.T.O.R.M. heading this way."

The giant bird swooped down again, narrowly avoiding the two arguing. Beyal was still on the ground, unsure of whether to start running again, to get ready for an attack, or stay low enough so that it wouldn't see him.

"If we don't do something, that thing'll eat us alive!" Bren said hysterically. Dax looked up at the monsuno, which had started going higher into the air, most likely preparing for its next strike. He kept looking back at the town, which had gotten considerably closer in their short run.

"S.T.O.R.M will be here any minute. We have to be clever about this," Dax said, "If we get caught, then-"

"Then what? We won't get to trek through this blasted desert anymore? Cause I really wanted to see the rest of all the sand!"

There was a high-pitched screech that silenced the two, making them all grasp their ears. Beyal felt the ground rumble around him, and when he peeked out from his hood, the monsuno was standing a few feet away from them. It let out large gusts of wind with it's massive wings. Dax and Bren were swept off their feet once again, and landed apart from each other.

Before anyone could react, the monsuno swept over to Bren. He only stare up in wide-eyed horror as the monsuno twisted and extended it's neck in a disturbing manner and let out a shriek at him.

"Bren!" Dax exclaimed.

_"…"_

"... Ah!" Suddenly, there was a pressure in his chest that made Beyal double over and clench it. Almost as if there was something trying to escape from within his heart, splitting it. Sound suddenly became muffled, and his sight became blurred, though he could faintly see Dax trying to take out the monsuno on his own.

"_... Stop."_

His breath hitched. It was the voice from before. Without another word, he felt his consciousness being ripped away, as if tearing his very soul away. Before he could even react, he was suddenly flung back into the recesses of his own mind.

* * *

A/N: Review Review Review!


	18. Chapter 18

A/N: Thanks to KaimelarTheDreamer, ChasexJinjaForever, and ilicsm or the reviews.

Enjoy!

* * *

_"... Chase."_

_He gasped, remembering that call. He turned away from the unknown monsuno and S.T.O.R.M. and instead looked to the far side where the Strike Squad once stood. The familiar white gown he had seen in dreams was floating by the edges of the cliffs._

_"... This way," she said in a whisper-like call. His feet moved on their own, and his eyes never left her in case she should vanish like before. Despite the yelling and roars, sound became dulled as he went into a sprint towards her. The closer he got, the sadder her expression seemed to become._

_"Don't move!" someone said behind him. He didn't care. She was only a few feet away after all. Hands suddenly found their way around his waist, and when he kicked and struggled out of their grasp, something hard came down on his head._

_His vision blurred and got dark, but he fought to stay awake as she continued to watch over as always._

_"... Chase," she said, voice still crystal clear. Everything went black after that, though he was sure he was still awake, but barely at that._

_Movement. He was being moved. But to where?..._

_..._

_..._

_..._

"_... Chase...!" _

He slowly eased his eyes open. The world was dark all around. No light in it at all.

"Where... Am I?" Chase muttered to himself, trying to move but failing. It was like he was falling, falling into this vast darkness all around. Funny. It didn't feel like he was falling. How did he even get here? The last thing he remembered was-

Chase gasped, and suddenly felt wide awake. He was facing down Alpha and the rogue monsuno when S.T.O.R.M. had shown up. At one point Jinja was there, and they needed to find the others...

But then... _She_ appeared.

"... Jinja?... Bren?" he asked, looking around, only to see darkness. He let out a sigh, but then saw something. There was a faint light in the distance, and he followed it, floating along lazily. It was a small circle of light on some sort of floor a few feet below him. It felt warm and fuzzy being near it, and, curiously, he stepped on it.

He was surrounded by a warm wind that tossed his hair lightly in the air. The circle expanded, lightening the world around him. Immediately, he recognized the grass and sky, and the tree in the distance with the small stone plaque under it.

He jogged over, though it was hard to move for some reason, as if moving through water. As he got closer, a figure slowly came into view. Long chestnut hair was flowing softly in the breeze with the long white gown. Those teal eyes were glistening as she smiled at him.

"Chase," she said. He slowed, and came to a stop when he was a few feet away from her, the shade of the tree reaching his feet.

"Mom," he said with a smile, "I can't believe your here! Wherever here is."

She let out a laugh, "This is where visions are made, and where you will find guidance when you need it. You have been here before, I might add."

He blinked. That's right. He was here once before in his dreams. She was here before as well, in almost all of them.

"Does that mean... You're always going to be here?" He asked hesitantly. Her expression fell, and she looked to the ground.

"I'm afraid not. I can only reach you when _they_ aren't watching, and when you are more in tune with your monsuno sight."

"They?"

"The Hand of Destiny," she looked up with a serious expression, "my son. There has been a disturbance. The Hand of Destiny are on the move to capture a new source of monsuno essence. And I'm afraid if you don't stop them, then you and your friends will be in danger."

"W-wait! Slow down! I don't get it. The Hand is only after me and Beyal, and they failed almost every single time. And what do the rest of my friends have to do with it?" Chase asked. She took a few steps forward until they were arms length apart.

"You know of the legend you are part of don't you?" she asked, "the legend about the Five Original Tribes?"

"Yeah, sort of. The Hand of Destiny claims to be them," Chase said, crossing his arms, "they are the ones who control monsuno essence. Right?"

She shook her head slowly, "No. While they have lived nearly forever, they are not the original wielders of monsuno energy. For you see, there were no controllers of monsuno until your father had made it possible."

"Well. That's dad for you," Chase chuckled. He should've expected as much since Locke was one of the first that this father had made. The only other people to really create monsuno would be S.T.O.R.M., Dr. Klipse, and Dr. Tallis, all of whom had done work with his father before.

"Chase," he looked up, "While they are looking for users of the monsuno sight, they are looking for the original sources of monsuno energy. If only because of me..." she trailed off, holding her hand close to her chest.

"Wait. What do you mean because of you? And what monsuno energy?" he asked.

"All the times that they had failed to capture you... It was because either I or someone else had interfered, all of which have the monsuno sight," she looked down. For a moment, she took a step forward and raised her arms a bit, as if afraid to embrace him. She quickly retracted them, and instead wrapped her arms around herself and looked away, "It's only made them go to drastic measures..."

He blinked, taking in what she said. This whole time they had been running from the Hand, but had no real idea of why. At first he thought it was because of his monsuno sight. But now...

"So... Is it your fault that they're after me?" he asked hesitantly.

"Of course not!" She said immediately, then quickly softened her expression, "They would be after you regardless... I only wanted to keep you safe from them."

She trailed off again, looking to the sky, which had started to turn a bit gray. The air had also seemed to get colder, even though he couldn't feel anything at all before.

"So... What are they trying to do now?" Chase said. The sky darkened even more, and the wind started to pick up, rustling the tree behind her.

"You and others with the monsuno sight are their targets, as you know. But if that doesn't work, they plan to go back to the beginning-"

Thunder suddenly rolled overhead, and the wind started to whip harder. She gasped at the change, and then took a few steps back.

"You have to leave, now!" She said.

"What? Why?" He asked, taking a few steps forward as well. The wind made it harder to stand, and he almost fell when he stood in front of her again.

"Because of that large wave of monsuno energy that was released, the Hand of Destiny haven't been able to track you down or know where you are right now. If they catch you here..." her expression turned grim as she bit her lip, "... Please Chase. I don't want to see you get hurt by them."

"But you can't go back to them! I won't let you!" Chase said, taking her hands in his. She smiled briefly before replacing it with a serious look.

"Please Chase. I've been keeping you safe for as long as possible now. And soon... I fear that won't be able to-"

"Wait. What do you mean?... You can't be saying-"

"Chase! You have to leave now!" She said, slipped her hands out of his, and pushed him backward with great force. Instead of hitting the ground, he started falling.

"No! Mother!" He cried as he reached out desperately. He was falling, falling into the darkness from before as she watched with a distraught look, fading into a green light. Time seemed to slow down as he fell, and found himself drifting back into a sleep-like state.

HLP

A metal fist came crashing down on the table. It had been well over fourteen hours, and the useless Punk Monks had yet to page in about their progress.

"N-N-Next time I Sh-sh-should just go out on m-m-my own!" Dr. Tallis said. The screen continued to blink and beep as it had been for the past hours, but there had yet to be any changes at all. Was there something that he was missing? Drezz and the rest of those useless rats should've said a lot more since the last time they spoke.

He looked up at the screen, weaving his fingers together in front of him in thought. What _was_ with the message that he got? Something about strange and violent monsuno, and then the Punk Monk's own monsuno suddenly going wild.

"It was probably a m-m-malfunction in their systems," he concluded. That was the only answer he could come up with. After all, they were man-made monsuno that were more on the artificial side, there were bound to be a few kinks in their systems. He would have to look at them when the Punk Monk's get back.

There was a beep. He glanced up to see that there was another message. About time something happened!

"Dr. Tallis-" It was Drezz speaking, though it was hard to tell with static phasing the message, "Suno was taken to S.T.O.R.M. a few hours ago."

"You fools!" Tallis exclaimed, "D-Don't you k-know that the reason I s-sent you was so that d-didn't happen?!"

"Y-yeah. Sorry about that," Drezz replied, "It's just that... Well..."

Dr. Tallis paused, "... What? What else happened?"

Drezz was hesitating on the other side, though that might of been the static, "Well... There were a few people that showed up. A lot actually."

"Did you confront them?"

"No. For the most part."

Dr. Tallis narrowed his eyes, "... For the most part?"

"There were these three guys that spoke to a few of them. And then another group that looked like they were from S.T.O.R.M., but didn't attack until late into the night. But by then S.T.O.R.M. helicopters had shown up. As well as... Another one."

"Another one?"

"Another monsuno sir."

Dr. Tallis leaned back into his chair. So there were more out there, not just the one at the S.T.O.R.M. base...

"... Go. You have to retrieve the one at the southern base. Whatever happens, none of the other monsuno can fall into S.T.O.R.M.'s hands," Dr. Tallis said, "if Charlemange learns about what those monsuno really are, then we'll be further from our objective! If something comes up, I'll alert you all immediately."

There was a short beep, and the call was ended. That wasn't the true reason he had to get those monsuno away from S.T.O.R.M. That reason was one that started years ago. Back when he had first discovered those ruins...

He looked down at the picture in his hand of the excavation, back before he had become reliant on his machines to survive. A variety of people were standing in the picture, mostly scientists, and behind them were large rocks with indentures on the surface. Anyone who knew of the folklore surrounding monsuno would recognize the markings as those from the Five Tribes (not that he cared about that particular legend).

No. What really interested him was the translation.

"To claim the absolute is to claim the dawn," he said, staring intently at a certain line. After that release of monsuno energy, it was only a matter of time. Leaning forward, he started to furiously type, intending on finding the other sites. Knowing those Punk Monks, he would have to make them go to the next site instead of going to S.T.O.R.M., especially if he wanted to get there before anyone else.

MLD

Drezz stood there for a moment after the call, and sighed deeply.

"Well? Did you tell him?" He turned around to see the rest of the Punk Monks sitting in the cave that they were in. They had yet to leave the area that Suno was previously in, unsure of who to follow at this point.

"No. He didn't want to know about what happened," Drezz said, and pocketed his communicator, "He wants us to get the monsuno out of S.T.O.R.M. directly."

"Drezz. You should've told him about those freaks from before," Throttle said, crossing her arms with a huff. Drezz couldn't help but agree. After Suno was taken to S.T.O.R.M. and the soldiers cleared out, another group of people happened to come along...

…..

_"They're moving. Should we go?" Tinker asked. They had stayed hidden in one of the many caves in the cliffs as S.T.O.R.M. had approached the area. The rogue monsuno had disappeared in a flash, leaving the soldiers baffled. Instead, they opted for taking Suno and his friend, most likely to the base._

_"No. Let me get a hold of Tallis first," Drezz said. Before he could get his communicator, there was a gasp. He looked up to see both Throttle and Ratchet looking behind them. When he looked as well, there was a group of hooded figures standing a few feet behind them._

_"Wh-Who are you?" Tinker said, taking a hold of his core immediately. One of the figures looked at them all, before settling their eyes on Drezz._

_….._

_"_We ought to pay back those creeps," Rachet said, clenching her core. Drezz let out a sigh and stood up.

_"_That doesn't matter," he said, and reached for Afterburn's core, "with S.T.O.R.M. on the move, we have to hurry. Especially with Dr. Tallis even more on edge."

The last thing they needed was to cross the doctor again, especially with their objective so close. Those hooded creeps would have to wait another day for a rematch. Even after the Punk Monks defeat.

"Let's go."

* * *

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	19. Chapter 19

A/N: Thanks to KaimelarTheDreamer, Myra the Sark, and ChasexJinjaForever for the reviews.

Enjoy!

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The sound of electricity buzzing was the only sound in the room besides the faint sound of metal clicking and the occasional small curse. Fluorescent light from above gave the room a bluish tint. Jinja had woken in this place, hands cuffed above her on a pipe that ran through her cell. There seemed to be many cells along the hall, including across from her, but all were silent and empty.

"Erg... C'mon...!" she said under her breath, bending a small bobby pin into one of the keyholes. She had been working since she had woken up, trying to get the metal cuffs off so that she could find Chase.

She stopped for a moment. Was he even here? Did they take him to another base? Or even straight to Charlemange? And what about the others? Were they here as well? She sighed, knowing that the only way to find out was to escape before anyone else showed up.

There was a low moan in the cell to her left that made her stop again. She held her breath, trying to listen to who it was.

"… Is someone there?" She asked not too loudly. There was another moan and shifting sound.

"… ugh… mom… come back…"

Jinja let out a sigh in relief. Chase was right next to her. At least that meant that Charlemange hadn't separated them. It was a bit odd that Chase would be dreaming about his mother right now, but then again, weirder things had happened to them. She looked back up at the metal and started picking at the lock again.

It was hard to tell how much time had passed since she had been working on getting the damned handcuffs off. There weren't any windows either, and no one came down the hall yet, so it could've only been ten minutes for all she knew. Still, Chase continued to talk in his sleep throughout the whole time. He was probably just having a nightmare like before-

She held her breath. Last time he had a violent nightmare, the Hand of Destiny was trying to capture him and Beyal. She looked down, eyes cast to the ground. What if it _was_ a nightmare like before? Sure Chase would be alright since the Hand wouldn't just attack S.T.O.R.M. But what about Beyal? The only one with him was Bren (and he isn't exactly the brawniest of the bunch that's for sure). The Hand could've gotten them both by this time, or worst.

"… I hope you're all alright," she said.

She looked back up to the cuff and went back to work. Once a while back, Dax showed them one of his many 'talents' with lock picking when they needed a place to stay for a night in an abandoned town. She didn't get to see very clearly, but got the gist of how he managed to do it.

_"-at least I am straight with people. You can't even find the gull to out right say your feelings, to any of us."_

She bit her lip, remembering the last time she saw the lowlander and how tense it was. She griped the bobby pin a bit tighter. Sure there were some tender moments between her and Dax, but there were many times that they didn't click, if only because of how distant he was. Of course it didn't help that she felt easier in expressing her feelings to Beyal. He was a lot more honest and easier to read.

… How many times had she and Beyal kissed now? Twice? Maybe she was just moving too fast. But then again, maybe everything that has happened up to this point has just been in the moment. After all, she couldn't really picture herself with either of them after this whole ordeal. Sure they would all still be friends, maybe even work for Core Tech together, but would it ever be more then that?

Jinja let out another sigh. She really did complicate things in that brief minute with Dax. Next time she sees him, she'll clear up the whole thing. It was just a misunderstanding.

At least that's what she kept telling herself as she continued to work on the small lock.

GDL

He had walked quite a long ways back into the canyon and along the edge of the river, ignoring his own thoughts on disobeying his father. It was mostly out of curiosity did Six decide to wander away from the old man and back into the cavern that Chase Suno and his friends were in before.

Ever since speaking to the red haired girl did he get the strange feeling. No. He had the feeling ever since coming to this place of endless sand. It was only when they came to the river did he realize why.

There was a sound. A faint call from far away, and Six needed to find the source of the soothing voice. He had never heard of such a melodious sound before. Of course he wasn't alive for very long, but that didn't mean he wasn't the least bit curious about the unknown. He had followed it along the river for quite a while now, but didn't care too much about danger. His father _had_ trusted him with a monsuno of his own this whole time, despite some discrepancies from the old man (he never liked him anyway). Six was sure he could managed anybody he would meet.

After walking some more, the sound had gotten considerably louder. He was sure he had gone a few miles down the river, maybe even close to the ocean at this point. There was a faint sound of trickling water ahead that confirmed his suspicion.

He started to jog down that way until he reached the end of the river that turned into a waterfall. Instead of seeing the ocean, there was a large lake that was deep in the earth. The sides of the cliffs stretched out so that the lake was partially covered, and it was obviously larger then the enormous hole that he could see through. He stood at the top of the waterfall that poured down into it that was at least a hundred foot drop.

"Strange. I don't remember seeing a lake on the map," he said to himself. From above, it most likely looked like part of the river. It was then that he realized the sound was coming from below. He couldn't see along the shores, or if there was someone nearby. Which meant only one thing-

"Six!"

He looked behind him, and could see the old man running along the path towards him. The other man was also with him (he didn't like that guy either).

"_… Chase…"_

He blinked. There was now a voice that he could hear as if the person was right next to him. Looking around, he heard the song become louder. Taking a breath, he dove off down into the water, the shouts of the other two trailing behind him.

It was a strange rush of feeling to be suddenly surrounded by cold water after walking in the desert for so long. Refreshingly pleasant actually. He came up to the surface, and saw that the lake actually stretched out below the cliffs, like an underground lake.

"It was probably concealed until those tremors," Six concluded, looking up at the ceiling that had parts missing. It wasn't very sturdy, so it was only a matter of time of this place being discovered. He could even see some cracks still appearing on some parts.

There was a splash and gasping noises, and when Sx looked over he saw the other two swimming a few feet away from him.

"Gah! Why would you do that old man!" the crazier man said. The butler only gave him an annoyed look before turning to Six.

"Let's go Six. We have to report back to your father now-"

"But there's someone here," Six said, and started to swim away towards one of the edges. He could hear the singing much more clearly down here, but that may have also been the echoes.

"Six! Get back her right now!" the old man nagged. The other man also cursed under his breath. When he got to the edge of the lake, Six hoisted himself out and looked around. There were many caves and caverns that stretched even farther in. He couldn't even see the end, the tunnels seemed to stretch into the shadows themselves.

"How odd," he said. He kept trying to locate the sound of the soothing voice, almost as if it would show a sign.

"Listen boy!" Hargrave said, marching up to him completely soaked, "Klipse is going to want you back at the lab by the end of the day. While I could care less about what he's doing, the last thing _I_ need is another nuisance to look over!"

"What are you talking about 'another nuisance'?" Dom Pyro asked, raising a brow, "I'll have you know that as soon as we're out of this blasted place I'm gonna-"

"_Chase!"_

Both Six and Hargrave gasped at the sound, and turned towards one of the farther caverns. They both stared intensely, ignoring the spouts of the black haired man. There was a faint flicker, and Six took off again.

"W-wait! Get back here!" Hargrave shouted. Six continued to ignore him, and charged into the dark tunnel. Whatever was in there, it was looking for Chase, which only meant he was going to show up. The light got brighter, and soon the figure came into shape.

It was a woman in white surrounded by a glowing light, whose expression quickly turned to confusion once she saw the teen. It was strange, she seemed… familiar.

"_Who are you?_"

HLP

Chase let out another low mutter in the cell over, and started to make even more sounds. Jinja paused to listen, noticing how loudly he had gotten with the last few minutes.

"…ngn… Where… Where am I?" he said groggily.

"Chase? Are you awake now?" Jinja asked, feeling some of the tumblers in the lock finally loosening. There was shuffling before he responded.

"Jinja? Is that you?" he asked.

"Yeah. It's me," she said, and decided to stop for the moment, taking a hold of the bobby pin between her fingers and slipping it out of the lock.

"… Where are we?" He asked.

"It's safe to say... Probably the S.T.O.R.M. base," Jinja said. At first she couldn't tell, but then figured that they were probably taken down to the Southern base, since it was the closer one. She heard Chase give out a sigh.

"That's what I though…" Jinja bit her lip. Chase started to shuffle more, most likely cuffed to ceiling as well.

"Do you... do you think the others are here?" Jinja asked hesitantly. She hadn't seen the others except Dax that previous night, and even then she lost track of him after their fight. Chase also didn't seem too concerned with the other two either, fighting Alpha rather casually.

"I don't think so," Chase said, more clinks of metal resounding in the hall, "If they wanted to keep us separate, they wouldn't have put you and me together-ow!"

"Chase? Chase are you alright?!"

"Yeah. Just cut myself on the handcuffs," He sighed, "I'm pretty sure I'll live. Though I'm not sure if that's a good thing with Charlemange around."

There was a pause. Chances were, Charlemange was on her way over to the base now, no doubt intending on 'interrogating' them to find Dr. Suno. The last thing they needed was to lead S.T.O.R.M. back to Chase's dad.

The thought of the man suddenly reminded Jinja about Chase's mumblings from before.

"Chase… What were you dreaming about?" she asked.

"What?"

"You kept saying something about your mom. Did you see her in another vision?"

Chase paused, and it was hard to tell whether he was thinking or hesitating on what he wanted to say. He didn't immediately respond, and it became silent after that. Did he really not want to talk about it, or was he keeping something from her? A minute later, the sound of a door opening echoed throughout the hallway before she could ask. Footsteps were approaching them, and Jinja could feel a bead of sweat come down in anticipation. Another cell to her left opened and shut, and then the footsteps went away. It was only after the door closed again did they speak.

"What was that about?" Jinja asked, "You think they caught someone?"

"Don't know," Chase said, "Hey! Is there anyone in there?"

There wasn't a response, and he let out a sigh.

"I guess not... Anyway, Jinja. You think you could get your hands out?"

"I've kinda been working on it for a while now," Jinja said, slightly annoyed. She took a hold of the bobby pin once more and went back to work. She wanted to ask Chase more about what he was saying before, but knew from the silence that it was something he didn't want to talk about.

After all, she had things that she didn't want to talk about.

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Just to be clear, Jinja's still referring to the kiss. There's no other random secrets I'm throwing in there that's O.C. besides the actual events in the series and currently in the story.

Review Review Review!


	20. Chapter 20

A/N: Thanks to Myra the Sark, KaimelartheDreamer, and ChasexJinjaForever for the reviews!

Enjoy!

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The day was now well into the afternoon, probably close to sunset in another hour or so. The skies had turned grey overhead, making it hard to see the sun and dimming the area even more. The air was warm, with the threat of falling rain. S.T.O.R.M. soldiers had taken over the village, sweeping the streets and raiding through the buildings. It was a rather old port-side village, so it wasn't too hard for the three teens to push their way through. It also meant there were plenty of places to hide in as well.

"Coast is clear!" Bren whispered, after looking down the street for a whole minute. Slowly he stepped out, looking down even more of the narrow paths just in case. When he turned around, Dax had stepped out, carrying Beyal on his back.

"Can you believe it? Not one guard has spotted us yet!" Bren said enthusiastically, "Usually by this point we would've alerted at least one or two and sent the whole city up in a commotion."

"That doesn't mean we're in the clear though," Dax said snappishly, "We still need to find a place to hole up in till we can find Chase and the princess."

"Yeah I suppose," Bren frowned, and started leading the way down the street, "But can you believe out luck? Only when we get to the outskirts of town does Beyal decide to pass out again."

Dax looked over his shoulder at the monk, who's cheeks were red and flushed again. He kept going in and out of consciousness like before, but was trying to stay awake.

…..

_"__Bren!"Dax shouted as the owl monsuno towered over the teen, who laid petrified and was trying to shrink down into the sand. This was it. This was the end, getting eaten by a rogue monsuno, what a way to go._

_Something flew by and struck the monsuno straight in the face. It ruffled it's face, and screeched angrily at Dax. The offending object tumbled down and landed right next to Bren, who blinked in realization._

_"__Dax! Don't just throw the Core Tablet!" He exclaimed._

_"__Not now!" Dax shouted as the monsuno shot a beam of light at him. It narrowly missed, but cause the large sand dune behind them to collapse down, sweeping Dax off his feet._

_Using that moment as a distraction, Bren quickly grabbed the Core Tablet and bolted out from the monsuno. It's elongated neck twisted around and caught sight of him, quickly giving chase. Looking back for a split second, the monsuno had now extended out and was only a few feet from snapping Bren in half with it's sharpened beak._

_Out of nowhere, Beyal kicked straight into the monsuno's face and knocked it away and off it's feet. Bren stumbled a bit and landed on his behind, surprised by the sudden appearance of the monk. Before he could say anything, Bren watched as Beyal stood in front of him as the monsuno recovered a bit. He continued to dodge the attacks by the monsuno and deliver his own swift hits. Bren would've thought of it as unreal if he hadn't seen Beyal do the same thing that morning to Don Pyro._

_Entranced by the scene, Bren could only watch as Beyal soon had taken out both of the monsuno's legs, leaving it hobbling on the ground. In response, the monsuno hooked its beak on Beyal's robe, and threw him in the air. He twisted around midair, avoiding the monsuno's bite and aiming straight for one of it's slightly extended wings._

_There was a sharp 'SNAP!' when Beyal's foot struck down on the monsuno's wing with a curved kick. It let out a shrill cry of pain before reeling back in pain. Wasting no time, Beyal ran straight over to Bren and jerked him to his feet. He did the same to Dax, who was still struggling to get out of the sand. Taking both their wrists, Beyal ran forward and far away from the monsuno. Throughout the whole time, Bren stumbled to stay on his feet, not being able to match with the monk's swiftness, but they didn't dare stop._

_…__.._

Dax turned back to Bren, shifting his shoulders a bit, "Again, let's just find a place to stay before S.T.O.R.M. decides to come out and play."

They went down a few more streets, only stopping when a soldier or two would march by. Luckily, they found a bar that was on the less popular side of the village that wasn't getting second looks by the soldiers.

"Alright, that's probably a good place to start," Dax said as the two of them poked out from the corner. They were in an alley next to an inn that had a clear view of the entrance.

"Remember. Be discreet," Bren said as Dax lowered Beyal to the ground. As much as he hated relying on Dax, street talk wasn't exactly his forte, and they had to find out fast whether or not Chase or Jinja were seen. Otherwise, they were most likely taken by S.T.O.R.M.

"Sure thing Glasses," Dax said, jogging off into the doors. Bren watched as he disappeared inside, but couldn't see much farther then that since the windows were opaque with dust and cobwebs. Sighing, Bren slumped onto the wall, slowly sliding down till he was sitting next to Beyal.

"You really do have impeccable timing, you know that?" Bren grumbled. As soon as they ran into the range of the city and spotted the S.T.O.R.M. blockades, Beyal had collapsed. Although, Bren honestly thought it was from exhaustion, seeing that he practically carried the two of them across the desert when they were running. The monk winced a little before slowly opening his eyes.

"I am sorry... for the inconvenience..." He muttered breathily. Bren continued to look around before turning back to the white-haired boy. Normally he would've responded bitterly (or snarky if it was Jinja he was talking to), but there was just something about being left without Chase or Jinja that left him feeling... vulnerable. Especially after what happened an hour ago. The last thing he needed was to start a fight with these two and become stranded in the middle of the desert with no way of getting back to his best friends.

"Ehh... Don't worry about it," Bren chuckled lightly, but stopped when more soldiers came around the corner, running off into the city. There were shouts about a monsuno sighting, but there was nothing more then that.

'Is it the same monsuno? Or maybe Chase or Jinja?' he thought. It was probably the owl monsuno, no doubt wanting revenge. There was no way Chase or Jinja would be rash enough to start a fight in the middle of a city taken over by S.T.O.R.M.

"... I hope you guys are okay," he muttered, thinking about his best friends. The group had separated from Chase in many instances, but Bren had never separated from both Chase and Jinja in a critical situation before. And with everything going on in the world (and that way too close encounter a few hours ago), he wanted to see the two of them now more then ever.

Slowly, he took out the Core Tablet, and typed up a quick message to Dr. Suno.

_To Dr. Suno, We are currently in the eastern desert still. A storm has hit the coast, and S.T.O.R.M. and the Punk Monks have been more active. It seems to all be related to the strange amount of monsuno energy that's been released. Chase and Jinja have been-_

He was cut off when the front entrance to the bar was blown to pieces. He pushed the send button and quickly turned around and let out a loud yelp at the sight of the giant plume of smoke that erupted. People came out, shouting and running in all directions as it went up in flames, including Dax.

"I thought I told you to be discreet!" Bren shrieked. Dax had bits of char on his face, and was more then a little flustered.

"I was! Until _they_ showed up!" he said, pointing back at where the bar once was. As some of the dust and smoke cleared, a familiar red monsuno stood in its place.

"Well, well. Isn't this a nice surprise!" A woman's voice purred from in the flames, "And here I thought the boys and I wouldn't find a challenge when coming to this dinky little town!"

Bren's eyes widened, "It's-"

HLP

"… Where are you mom," Chase said under his breath with a sigh. He and Jinja had been silent well over a couple of minutes, except for the sound of Jinja picking at the lock of her handcuffs.

There was a groan, followed by the sound of shuffling. He sucked in a breath, but it quickly became silent again, and Chase let out a sigh. There was a pause in the metal clinking coming from Jinja's cell, but quickly continued.

He wanted to say something, especially about his vision, but Chase couldn't bring himself to find the words. Even though they had known each other as kids, there was no way that Jinja would know what he was feeling. His mom had disappeared years ago, leaving him with an empty feeling. Jinja, and even Bren, wouldn't understand that type of loss. Even trying to talk to someone like Beyal about the vision would be a little odd, seeing that the monk grew up in a temple rather then a regular home. Maybe he would talk to Dax when they meet up again. He seemed to have an idea of what was probably going on, especially when it came to-

There was a loud thud in the cell to his left, followed by low curses.

"Is someone there?" he asked somewhat quietly.

"Ugh... Damned soldiers..." someone cursed, and continued to mumble lowly, "Stupid... Idiot... Gonna kill that-"

Chase cleared his throat. "Um... Hello? Is someone there?"

"... Chase Suno?" A surprised but familiar voice said.

"_Drezz?!"_ Chase exclaimed. He recognized that voice now that it was less of a whisper. "What are you doing here?!"

In the cell next to him, there was the sound of shifting clothes, and then a chuckle.

"I guess you got caught too eh?" Drezz said, "I guess it makes sense since we left you to your own devices."

"What do you mean 'to our own devices'? And what are you even doing down here?" Chase asked. There was more shifting in the cell. Drezz probably wasn't handcuffed like they were, seeing that Charlemange would be more worried about their escape then the Punk Monk's.

"... Was just doing some investigating. Got separated from the rest of my crew. Ended up here," Drezz said, "I didn't think you would be getting yourself caught though Chase Suno. S.T.O.R.M. too much for you to handle?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Jinja huffed from Chase's right. She seemed more on the edgy side at this point, most likely because of the lack of sleep. Chase did find it odd that Drezz had shown up here as well, but there was no harm in finding out information. it would be playing into their plan, but if it meant getting out of here quicker, it was worth it. After all, he did need to get out of this place as soon as possible. _She_ was waiting for him.

"So Drezz," Chase started, "What was it that Dr. Tallis wanted us to find here? Something about a monsuno right?"

GLM

Drezz went on for a bit, talking about what S.T.O.R.M. was probably planning and what he was doing there. Jinja couldn't hear as clearly as Chase could though since she was farther down, and had lost interest long ago. She knew that she had to focus on the lock at this point, especially with Charlemange on her way.

"Erg... C'mon!" She muttered to herself. This was now getting too frustrating. How did Dax even manage to do this? It also didn't help that the angle was a rather awkward one, with her having to look up the whole time. Her neck started to ache a bit from the strain, and her wrists were definitely chaffing from the metal cuffs.

She almost gave up, but heard the tumblers loosen with a satisfying 'click!'. Immediately, she felt relief on her right wrist.

"Finally," She sighed, and went to work on the other. She stopped for a moment when she heard Chase start to talk.

"I know what you mean... I... My mother was taken from me by the Hands of Destiny..."

Jinja frowned. Since when did the conversation become about them? Maybe she should've tried to listen more (but then again, she could get all the answers she wanted once those blasted cuffs were gone and they were out of this prison).

Before she could finish unlocking the other cuff, the doors to the hallway opened.

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A/N: On hiatus until further notice.

Until then, Review Review Review!


	21. Chapter 21

A/N: Spent almost all of break writing, rewriting, and then rewriting even more. I might not update again for another few weeks since I want to finish the rest of the story before posting (seven or so chapters left to write). But know that it is far from done. (also Jeredy's such a bamf in this chapter)

Thanks to Myra the Sark, KaimelarTheDreamer, ilicsm, ChasexJinjaForever, and the guest review.

Enjoy!

* * *

He didn't dare move. The beast, which looked like a jackal, was right outside the train continued to breath heavily, eyeing him through the tinted windows. Jeredy could see its glassy stare through the reflection on his screen. Slowly, it started to move away.

Jon Ace let out a weird noise. The monsuno's fur still obscured the window, but didn't pay any attention to the two of them. So they both sat still, waiting for some sign of it leaving. Unfortunately for them, there was none. Almost as if it was looking for something.

Jeredy edged his fingers down to the keys, carefully typing in the emergency backup generator to the train. There was a hum of energy, and then everything flickered alive.

The beast was back, eyeing him with a malicious glare. As if to threaten him for moving. Not hesitating, Jeredy slammed down on the throttle, and the train lurched forward. It took off, leaving the mosuno behind. He sat back down and furiously started to type up the controls to the train. The train picked up speed, and after a few minutes of silence, Jeredy let out a sigh of relief.

The train lurched again, and Jeredy brought up a few of the security cameras. It was back, and was now on top of the last cart. It started to make its way up to the control car again. Jeredy didn't have time to react before it was now denting the ceiling with its feet, almost making it collapse on top of him. Instead of stopping, it continued to the front of the train.

'What is it doing?' Jeredy thought. There wasn't anything in the other cars except files and samples-

He gasped in realization, and bolted over to the armory case towards the back of the cart. Quickly, he grabbed one of the taser guns, charging it up as he headed for the door. The sun was blazing above him. He stood in between two of the cars as the train rushed on. Gripping the rails, he looked over the side. He could make out the fur of the monsuno: a dusty gray color with blotches of black, but that was all. Carefully, he took aim.

The train staggered, and he shot the window instead, glass showering at him. He let out a gasp when some of it hit his face.

Immediately the monsuno turned around, staring at him with a hateful look. It shrieked, and clawed down at the car, tearing through the metal and reaching inside. He brought up the taser again, aiming again.

He made five shots before the monsuno looked up again. There was something in its jowls, so it only growled at him. He shot five more shots before the monsuno let go of the train. It flew by him, clawing out at him. He yelled out when he felt it nick his shoulder.

"Dammit!" He gripped his shoulder, feeling it go numb. There was a warm feeling around his hand, which he guessed was blood.

The monsuno rolled a few times on the ground, giving out a howl as it got farther and farther away. He waited until it was out of sight before he went back inside. Jon seemed to notice his wound, and made a low sound.

"Don't worry... It's not as bad as it looks," He said, tossing the tazer gun back into the chest. He winced, and quickly sat back down. He took his jacket off, and saw Jon's eyes widen a bit.

"I'm guessing it got me good," he said, wincing as he touched it lightly. When he looked, he could see his shirt staining red. Carefully, he took it off. He reached into one of the lower cabinets and brought out a first aid kit (something he installed in all the cars).

He looked into one of the blank screens and saw that there were three claw cuts that ran from his arm pit to the top of his back. The cuts got a lot darker and deeper on his shoulder, and blood was now streaming down his chest. Carefully, he took a large amount of gauze and put pressure on the wounds. He grit his teeth, but held them firm.

"Something tells me that was one of the new monsuno that have been running around," He said, moving his arm a bit, trying to keep it from getting too numb. In his message, Chase had mentioned something about 'rogue monsuno,' which he found a little strange. There have never been cases about natural formed monsuno. Hell, he was the one of the first to make it possible when working for Core Tech.

"... I wonder if it had anything to do with that wave of monsuno essence," he thought. He walked into the other car, grabbing a rag and running under water before returning to the car with Jon in it. He replaced the soaked gauze and wiped some of the blood away before putting more gauze on the wounds. He started wrapping the bandages around, and it was awkward at best, using only one arm. When he finally managed to get it on, he sat back with a sigh.

"What I'm wondering is how it got all the way north when it was in the desert," he said, "And why did it show up here-"

He stopped, and got to his feet. He stumbled a bit as he went back to the car that the monsuno was digging in. When he stepped inside, there was a large hold in the middle, with many of the boxes of monsuno energy samples scattered everywhere. Luckily, all the bottles had held up, but he was still cautious not to touch any of them.

He went toward the wreckage, and looked into one of the cases that was opened. He let out a defeated sigh. The monsuno was looking for something, and it had found it.

"It took the Crystal of Tav Kagah," he muttered, and went back to the other car. When he had tried to use it on Jon, he had to admit it did have special properties. There was something about how pure the energy was, much more purer then anything he had seen so far. But now it's in the hands of someone else.

"Whoever's controlling those monsuno must have an idea of how powerful the crystal can be," Jeredy concluded. He sat back down, bringing up his files on the crystal. He wasn't able to do as much research on it like he should've, but that was also because he was focusing on helping Jon at them moment.

He was stirred from his thoughts when the screen started to blare again. It was another incoming message. When he opened it, he gasped.

"It's-"

HLP

"Madea," Dax finished, brushing some of the dust and rubble from the bar off his coat, "It looks like S.T.O.R.M. aren't the only ones looking for Little Suno."

The woman and her gang stood among the burning wreckage of the bar, smoke rising into the already clouded area. She had a smirk as she stood twirling the red core between her fingers, stepping out of the remains of the bar. It wouldn't take long for local authorities and S.T.O.R.M. to come.

"Well well. As much as I love reunions, me and my boys are on a bit of a schedule," she said, and took a hold of the core, "Now, where is Chase Suno? I have some business with him."

"Like we would tell you," Bren scoffed. Madea shook her head lightly and tutted.

"While I would love to have a battle with you little children, as well as Chase himself, I'm here on business. And if you don't tell me in the next minute, I'll be sending the rest of this little dingy town up in flames!" she cackled.

"You wouldn't!" Beyal said, surprised at the extreme actions of the woman. She simply tossed one of her stands of hair over her shoulder. The three of them were silent at her action, although they wouldn't put it past her to be ruthless. The second Dax saw her, he was prepared for her worst.

...

_He walked into the bar. A little small and slightly rundown place that hardly had any lighting. There was a few people inside, along with the rather burly barkeep. He eyed Dax a little suspiciously, but was signaled for a refill before he could say anything. Using that little distraction, Dax snuck off towards the back where he wouldn't be bothered._

_In these types of places, it was best to stay out of the limelight. Yet, he still needed to find information, so he stationed himself at a table that was in a corner, but had a view of most of the bar._

_'__I guess here's a good a place as any,' he thought, and brought out the envelope with the familiar red seal. Taking one last look around to see if any of the few people were looking (and if S.T.O.R.M. troops came in), he reopened the envelope and took out the notes. They were simple enough, with reports and a map of where his mother had been almost five years ago. Still too outdated for him to use, but it was a start._

_There was a note tucked under the flap that he had read earlier, but picked it up again regardless._

_"__There is a lot more information on your family then you think. If you would like for more recent data, follow the instructions below."_

_A note from Klipse no doubt. Demanding something in exchange. It was a typical dealer move, give your client a taste so that they have to come back for more._

_"__You will meet Hargrave in the coastal town towards the East. It is there that you have to exchange the monsuno readings and data about the past few months of Jeredy's research. Along with it should be included anything else that you find intriguing."_

_Dax took a breath. This was a test. Chances were, Klipse could hack into Core Tech's previous entries, and maybe even Dr. Suno's personal computers, so it wasn't the research he was probably after. Especially since he included that last part about including what he thought would be important. If Dax could hazard a guess, Klipse would probably be interested in the rogue monsuno, and had probably heard by this point. Word caught on fast in the monsuno world after all._

_"__Who do we have here?"_

_Dax looked up, and then quickly stood when he saw a familiar woman with black hair standing next to his table._

_"__What're you doing here Madea?" he snapped, immediately reaching for a core. She sat down and relaxed a bit in her seat, taking no heed to his obvious panic._

_"__I'm just here for some information from a certain old man. I'm sure you know by now," she said, and waved her hand in the air (probably to the barkeep)._

_"__... What do you mean? Are you saying you're Klipse's lackey for the day?" Dax asked, raising a brow. Madea clicked her tongue in annoyance. One of her own lackeys came over with what looked like an iced tea with a lemon wedge on the glass. She shooed him away._

_"__I'm just here to collect information about a certain monsuno that you have heard of, or apparently faced a few hours ago according to the old man," she said, looking at her drink, swishing it in her hand, "from the sound of it, it is quite powerful."_

_"__So that's what it's about," Dax sighed, "Klipse wants more monsuno, right?"_

_Madea just continued to stir her drink, smirking a little as she did so._

_"__Alright fine," Dax said, and sat back down, "rogue monsuno are on the loose. They're white- maybe even silver- with no other colors or distinguishing marks, and are extremely violent. So far we saw three, all of which were quick to disappear. There's no set pattern that shows where they attack, so it's hard to say if they can even be tracked."_

_He stood up and leaned over to the woman, who was sipping lightly at her drink._

_"__Now where's _my_ information?"_

_She glanced at him, and put the glass down. She reached into her pocket and withdrew another small envelope. He tried to snatch it, but she was quicker._

_"__Ah ah ah," she tutted, "you're forgetting one other part. I was informed that you would be handing over a certain item. One that would contain data from Jeredy's research."_

_"__Did he... say anything specific?" Dax asked._

_"__... I actually have no clue what the old man was talking about," Madea shrugged, and downed the last of her tea, "although he assured me that you would know exactly what he was talking about._

_Dax gave a confused look. So it wasn't the actual data that Klipse wanted, it was something specific with data on it... Something with Dr. Suno's data and research on it..._

_"__... He wants the... Core Tablet?" he asked, unsure. Madea perked up._

_"__Is that what he wants? The little device that Chase has?" she asked with a peeked curiosity. It was actually Bren who carried it around, but he wasn't about to correct her. If it meant that she would go running around trying to find Chase, then that was fine (especially since he was probably still in the desert looking for that cave he was going on about). Just as long as she was out of their way._

_"__Well. If that's the case," she said as her lips curled, "you wouldn't mind handing it over then, ne?"_

_Dax bit his lip. There was no way he could hand over the tablet (especially since Bren would throw a hissy fit)... But that didn't mean he could hand something else over._

_"__... How about this?"_

_Dax pulled a jump drive from his pocket and placed it one the table. Madea perked up, taking the device in her fingers._

_"__Oh. What's this?" she said, curiously turning it in her fingers._

_"__Just some information given to us about a monsuno," Dax said. He had picked it off Bren earlier that day when he was frustrated. It always helped to have a few extra cards to play, and this was Dax's._

_"__... Interesting," she said, then look back up at him, "Is that what Klipse wanted?."_

_Dax nodded. He couldn't be sure if it was what Klipse was looking for, but it would do for the moment._

_"__... Hey! You over there!"_

_The two of them looked up to see a few S.T.O.R.M. soldiers approaching them. Immediately Dax got to his feet. The soldier stood a few feet away, Madea eyeing them carefully._

_"__Put your cores on the table, and your hands in the air," the soldier warned. Madea stood slowly, bringing her core out. She cast a mischievous glance at Dax._

_"__Poisonwing! Launch!"_

_..._

He wasn't surprised that the woman would resort to fighting first, she was a bit crazy like that. He _was_ surprised that Klipse would be interested in the Core Tablet. Again, he had probably had access to the dubious amounts of information that Core Tech had, so there was no way he would want the Core Tablet. Unless...

"Now tell me: where is Chase at? I wouldn't want my dear Poisonwing to make cinders out of this little town," she purred, clearly loving how drawn out this was.

The three of them exchanged looks. They had just gotten into the town, and still had no idea of where Chase or Jinja were. It had been well over a few minutes as well, meaning S.T.O.R.M. would show up in at least five minutes.

"Freeze!"

Speak of the devil.

"Hands where we could see them!" one of the soldiers shouted, at least twenty surrounding them all, including Darkspin. Bren and Beyal kept looking back and forth between the two groups, unsure of who they should be facing. Dax, on the other hand, was busy staring down Madea.

'I need to get that envelope,' he thought, knowing that _that_ was probably the key to finding his mother, maybe even both his parents.

Madea snapped her fingers, and all the members of Darkspin threw something into the air. Instantly, a plume of smoke tossed in the air, covering the area. Dax payed no attention to the shouts by the shoulders, the roars of the monsuno, or even what Bren and Beyal were doing. He was aiming for Madea. And it only took him a few steps before he was face to face with the woman, alone.

* * *

A/N: Review Review Review!


	22. Chapter 22

Thanks to ChasexJinjaForever and KaimelarTheDreamer for the reviews!

Enjoy!

* * *

The smoke had filled the entire area, and only the fire from the bar seemed to help give direction, if only because it lit up some of the area with an orange glow. There was panic everywhere, with S.T.O.R.M. troops not knowing where to go, but also because Darkspin had set their monsuno out. Beyal stood still amongst it, trying to figure out where the other two had gone but not wanting to go into the chaos.

"Dax? Bren?" he called out, though tried to be a bit quiet. He didn't want to run into anyone else, and it was hard to tell if there was anyone near him. Though that could've just been his headache and slight fever, which had gotten a bit worse since he started to move again.

"Stop right there!" Beyal turned to his left to see the faint outline of two people. One of which was much smaller then the other.

"Oh o-okay!" squeaked Bren, easing his hands up a little. Beyal suddenly felt lightheaded. No, not quite lightheaded. More like he was lighter then his own body. It only got stranger when he blinked and found himself looking down at a S.T.O.R.M. soldier that was unconscious.

He had blacked out again. If only for a minute.

"Wow! Thanks Beyal," he turned around to see Bren, who clapped a hand on his shoulder, "that's twice today. You must be on fire."

He gave a confused look. It disturbed him a bit by how he spaced out. But at this point, it was the least of their worries.

"But Bren. The only thing on fire right now is the bar," Beyal said. Bren just groaned at him for not getting the figure of speech, but didn't say anything. There was a shout somewhere else, and they turned towards the orange glow farther away, which had gotten increasingly larger.

"We gotta find a way out of here," Bren said and took a hold of one of his cores. Beyal did the same, but stopped as soon as his fingers grazed across the surface. He paused for a moment as he gripped the core. He recognized the feeling as the one in the desert, except this time it was Mysticblade. Almost as if it didn't_ want_ to get out of the core.

"W-wait!" he said, taking Bren's wrist before he could spin out, "There's something not right."

"What do you mean?" Bren asked, raising a brow. There was another large explosion behind them that came in the direction of the bar, lighting up the area in a red glow. After a moment, Dax ran out of the smoke, somewhat cursing.

"What? What happened?" Bren asked. He was answered by Madea cackling in the distance as more flurries of red shot out and S.T.O.R.M. soldiers started shouting.

"Her and Darkspin's monsuno are going crazy," Dax said, "but she doesn't really care at this point. Just on making a bunch of mayhem for S.T.O.R.M. Anyway, we need to find a way out of here."

"I don't think there is one," Bren said, looking around into the smoke. Beyal looked as well to see that some of it had cleared away. There were a few S.T.O.R.M. soldiers trying to get their bearings, but most were looking around blindly or were running after Madea's monsuno.

For some reason, Beyal fixed his gaze on two particular soldiers. One was rather tall and husky for a typical soldier, while the other had a leaner, more petite figure. And they didn't seem as panicked as the others. There was something familiar about those two...

"Beyal!" He snapped out of his daze and saw that S.T.O.R.M. soldiers had swarmed all around the three of them.

"You think you could take out the rest of these guys?" Bren said as they raised their hands a bit. Beyal didn't respond. His headache had come back and was now making his ears ring. It suddenly spiked and he ended up dropping to his knees, holding his head between his hands. He choked back a cry as he tried to stay awake, especially when he felt his monsuno's reaction in its core that he still held.

"Beyal!"

"Stop where you are!"

"Monkfish, get up!"

"Drop your cores! Now!"

All the voices seemed to blur together as he tried to keep a grip on his core and stay conscious. He could hardly breathe as the pain got worse. Whatever it was - probably that voice from before - was desperately trying to take control again. His monsuno didn't want that, which meant something was wrong.

"Dax what do we do?"

"Keep those mosuno under control until back up comes! Call in the Commander!"

"Poisonwing! Hellish Hurricane!"

There was a faint explosion, but he could see the red light flashing close by. The closer soldiers were now running towards it, Poisonwing flailing out as they came nearer. He turned a little to see Bren and Dax being confronted by some of the soldiers. At one point, Dax ended up being tackled to the ground as Bren got handcuffed. A shadow suddenly stood above him, and Beyal looked up to see a soldier kneeling down next to him. It was the leaner figure from before. When their visor lifted a bit, he gasped at the familiar face.

Before he could say anything, the world started to spin horribly. He felt a pair of arms wrap around him as he was pulled to his feet. The soldier was whispering in his ear. No._ Singing_. Even when they had started to move to what was probably a helicopter, she didn't leave his side, and kept humming that familiar tune as they made their way to the S.T.O.R.M. base.

HLP

"Who are you?" asked the woman in white with the long chestnut hair. Six only stared blankly, as if he was expecting something else. He peeked behind her, and then looked around before speaking.

"... Your the woman in my dream," he said. The woman gave a confused look. He had heard her voice before, and seen her briefly in his dreams. But that wasn't what disturbed him. Even though it was his dreams, she would be calling out for Chase Suno. Which was why he had been looking for the guy.

"I'll ask again, who are you?" she asked, more of a statement.

"My name is Six E. Klipse. My farther is Emmanuel Klipse, and I am looking for Chase Suno," he said monotonously. The woman's expression suddenly turned sour, strange how it went from peaceful to aggravated so quickly.

"You're not Chase. So why is it that you can see me?" she asked, her voice now booming. Six was a little surprised, though he didn't show it. Why did this woman care about Chase? Were they possibly related? In which case did that make her and Six related by default? He scoffed inwardly, remembering that little fact about him and Chase.

"Chase is my rival," Six said, "I needed to talk to him about you. Why have you been in my dreams? Who are you?"

Her expression stayed hardened, looking into his eyes for lies. He just stared back with the same blank expression. It wasn't that he couldn't tell lies, he just found it pointless.

"Six!" Hargrave exclaimed, followed by some mumblings. Six turned around to see the crazy man climbing through the cave and running over to him.

"Stop... Running off like that," Dom Pyro wheezed. For a mercenary, he was a little too winded for such a short run. The old man wasn't with him, and probably stayed out of the caves because of how steep and dark they were. It always impressed Six how the butler still ran around doing errands for his father, especially since Six could do it on his own in a heartbeat.

"But this woman knows who Chase Suno is. She's the one from my dreams," Six said and pointed. Dom Pyro raised a brow and looked ahead.

"What woman?"

Six turned back, and she was still there, seeming to float a bit as she was still enveloped in that orb of light. She looked at the two of them, debating on whether to say something.

"She's still there. The woman in white with the brown hair? You can't be that blind!" Six said, only to get a very confused look from Dom Pyro. He scratched his head a bit before muttering something under his breath.

"Did you find him yet, useless?" Hargrave shouted.

"Yeah he's-hey!" Dom Pyro turned back towards the entrance, "Don't make me come down there and let my pretty pretty crush you to bits!"

Six just continued to stare at the woman, a bit disturbed at how he was the only one that could see her, though she didn't look surprised.

"Well Six E. Klipse," she said, the light surrounding her starting to fade, "I hope that you find what you are looking for."

"W-wait!" he said, trying to take a hold of her arm, but passed right through before she vanished completely.

"Are you done yet boy?" Dom Pyro said, and gripped his shoulder, "because Klipse will have our skins if we don't get back soon."

Six flinched at the touch, and shook the man off. He glared for a bit before stomping out the cave. He brushed past Hargrave, and kept walking until he was standing on the edge of the large lake.

"What's gotten into him?" Hargrave asked, not bothering to be quiet.

"He says there was a woman in there, but I didn't see anyone," Dom Pyro shrugged. Six could feel the butler's gaze on his back.

"... Well, whatever," Hargrave said, "we should try and find a way out of here. I told Klipse we would be back by supper time."

"Ooooh! And I'm sure that's soooo important for him," Dom Pyro said in a mockingly happy voice, "Maybe we'll get to have desert afterwards!"

"Can it psycho!" the butler exclaimed, "Or I'll kick you back in the water like before."

Dom Pyro crossed his arms in a huff before starting to walk along the edge of the caverns. Hargrave brought up his communicator, but started fumbling after a minute.

"Ngn... No signal," he mumbled, and looked up. Six hadn't moved, staring ahead at the waters. It was actually a very serene area, with the sunlight trickling through the hole in the ceiling and the waves lapping the edges almost silently. Even the air seemed to hum with warmth. The feeling was so unfamiliar, but comforting at the same time. In some ways it reminded him of the first time he touch Locke's core. It was interrupted when Dom Pyro came back, cursing the whole time.

"What is it now?" Hargrave sighed.

"Walls are too steep," he said, "I suppose I could call out my pretty pretty to get us out."

"... No," Six said, and turned back to the two of them, getting confused looks.

"What do you mean 'no'? Are you suggesting my pretty pretty can't do it?" Dom Pyro asked raising his voice a bit, "Cause I can show you a thing or-"

"No monsuno here," Six said, and sat on the ground, holding Demise's core in his palm. The other two exchanged looks before walking over to one of the walls.

"Dragonburn!"

"Shadowhornet!"

"Launch!"

Their cores spun quickly over to the wall, hitting it. Instead of showers of red appearing, they landed on the ground with a dull 'thud!'. The two of them stood dumbly for a moment, and Six's eyes widened a bit when he saw.

"Wh-what happened?!" Dom Pyro shrieked, going over and picking up his core. He shook it a bit before looking at it. He tossed it at the wall again, getting the same result. He went over and started stomping on it.

"Don't tell me your mad or something! Get out here right now!" he started roaring, as if the core would respond. Hargrave went over to his own core, inspecting it carefully. A bit curious, Six stood up and walked over to look as well. It looked exactly the same as before, although the energy inside seemed to be a duller color.

"Interesting..." Hargrave said, and turned to Dom Pyro, "It looks like we'll just have to wait."

"Wait? Wait until what?" the crazy man asked.

"We could try to scale up the wall, though that would get a bit trecherous since it's more of a dome," the butler said, looking up, "I sent our coordinates right before we entered to Darkspin, so they will be here once their task is complete-"

"Are you suggesting that we just sit here on our hands until they shows up?" Dom Pyro asked, baffled. Hargrave shrugged and started walking back over to where Six was a second ago.

"Why don't we go through the caves? I'm sure there's an exit or tunnel we could use," Six suggested as Dom Pyro started clawing at the wall in an attempt to climb up.

"... Call it a hunch, but I'm not about to go storming into the dark without monsuno," the old man said, and sat down. Six looked back at Dom Pyro, who had managed to get pretty far up within that short amount of time, and shrugged. He sat back down, holding the core again.

... Who was that woman before? And what did she want with Chase Suno? Six only wanted to speak with Chase about her. For the past few days he was having the same dream, all of which with her...

He was stirred from his thoughts when Dom Pyro came screaming down and crashed into the water. His head popped up with a gasp as he floated back over to the edge. He stalked back over to the wall, and climbed back up, grumbling the whole time.

HLP

The ship had been going at a rather slow pace as it edged closer to the southern base. Scratch that, approaching the desert. The ship was still hovering over the jungle, nearly the miles of sand slowly. Charlemange continued to tap her fingers on the railing impatiently. The weather had hindered their movements greatly, making them go slower then a snail (if snails could fly that is. And she scoffed at that thought). It also didn't help that there was a constant beeping that had gone off every few minutes, slowly driving her even more insane.

Finally, she left the control room, thoroughly displeased by the development. Pinching the bridge of her nose, she could feel a headache coming on. She didn't even hear the footsteps that came running towards her down the hall.

"Commandant Marshall-"

"WHAT IS IT NOW?!" She roared. The soldier winced, but still stood in a salute.

"It appears that there is a bad thunderstorm in the area. It's going to make it hard to land at the base I'm afraid," he said, standing a little farther then normally in case she should lash out, "... Should we wait it out a bit until after the weather clears up?"

Charlemange cursed. Despite their victory with the capture of Chase Suno, everything seemed to be going south fast. The Strike Squad didn't report back. Not to mention how Commander Trey had yet to contact her. The ship had started to sway at that moment, almost making her trip in the hall.

"It is simple, when you get to the base -and I assure you we are not stopping for the weather -" She said as she regained her footing , "JUST DON'T LAND ZERE! I'll go on my own since you are all incompetent!"

Another soldier came running up to the two of them, "Commandant-"

"WHAT!?"

"I-It a-appears that-" The soldier squeaked, and cleared his throat, "It appears that one of the scouting groups have located the rest of Chase Suno's group. They were at one of the port towns towards the east, and are now heading back to the desert base."

Charlemange remained silent for a moment.

"... Ma'am?"

"Are you sure zat iz zem?"

The soldier looked down at a message on the screen on the arm of his suit, "Three boys, yes."

"And zat ze are being taken to the base zis very second?"

"Yes, Ma'am. Should be there in ten minutes or so."

"...I see," She said, and started to walk away down the other hallway, "See to it that they are put under special supervision until we get there."

* * *

A/N: I actually have no clue whether that's how Madea pronounced that attack.

Review Review Review!


	23. Chapter 23

A/N:Thanks to KaimelartheDreamer, ChasexJinjaForever, and Myra the Sark for the reviews!

Enjoy!

* * *

The beam of white light struck through the whole plane, straight through the front to the back. The Strike Squad had barely any time to move to the sides, and narrowly avoided getting hit. The plane was suddenly released from the monsuno's grasp, and it went tumbling down to the sands below. With no controls, all they could do is hang onto whatever was near.

Alpha ended up stumbling back and grasped onto one of the seats as tightly as possible. His eyes clenched shut, waiting for the violent shaking to stop. When it did, the metal creaked and lurched. He eased his eyes open, and saw that the plane had somehow managed to stay in an upright position, though it was slanted towards the back. He glanced around and saw that Tango and Kilo were also clinging to seats. He looked down towards the back and saw X-Ray and Bravo hanging onto one of the loose floorboards, trying to avoid sliding down.

"Is-is everyone okay?" he asked.

"Define okay," Tango retorted. Alpha grabbed onto the doorway, and pulled himself up towards the cockpit again. The entire glass pane had shattered, and the control board was broken with sparks occasionally flying and cracking. Wires and metal pieces hung half-hazardly from the ceiling and side panels.

"Are the pilots okay?" Bravo asked. Not bothering to respond, Alpha climbed to the control board. The seats were empty, and when he looked to the panel, most of the screens were either static or blank. He banged his fist against one of the closer ones until a message appeared.

AUTOPILOT ENGAGED.

"… There are no pilots," Alpha said, and turned to shout back, "I have a feeling the whole ship was on autopilot the whole time."

"What?!"

He groaned. Of course Charlemange wouldn't care too much about how the Strike Squad got back to their home base. Not when there were rare monsuno out there that needed to be captured. He heard footsteps and saw the rest of his squad making their way up as well.

"So now what do we do?" Kilo asked, being the first to get there. Alpha looked out the remains of the window and saw that the top was leaning over a sand dune, keeping the plane up at an awkward 70 degree angle.

"Try the emergency exit," he said. Kilo went over to the right side of the cockpit where a large door outlined in red was. The door stuck fast, and the larger teen had to throw his whole body until the door gave out. He let out a weird shout as he clung to the sides. When Alpha went to his side, he saw that the door was well over thirty feet from the ground.

"So what do we do now?" X-Ray asked as he clung to Bravo's back like a koala. The two of them had finally gotten to the top, and were hanging onto the cockpit entrance (at least Bravo was). Tango was right behind them, and had a firmer grasp on the doorway, but still struggled to stay upright.

"Well... The controls are busted. So there's no way we can contact anyone," Alpha said, looking at the control panel as more sparks shot out, "We can always get out and try to get to one of the closer bases-"

"Alpha. The only one that's close is the Southern Base, and Charlemange is going to be there," Tango said, weaving around Bravo so that she was also in the cockpit. Alpha winced a little. The last thing he wanted was to get yelled at by Charlemange in person.

"Why don't we try to send a signal to someone else?" X-Ray suggested, "I'm sure there's got to be some S.T.O.R.M. around here."

The plane lurched again, tilting downward so that it was a bit more evened out. Alpha waited until it was a bit more stable before he spoke.

"Well... At this point lets just try and get out of here," he said.

"With that monsuno out there?! Are you insane?" Bravo said. That instantly set them all on alert. They all went to the now open hatch and peeked out. There were't any other sound besides the whistling of the wind. When they looked to the ground, there weren't any tracks either.

"You think it's on the other side?" Kilo asked.

"I doubt it. It would've attacked by now," X-Ray said. Alpha surprised them all when he leapt out the door and onto the sand. His landing was cushioned, and he almost got stuck in one of the dunes. Kicking some of the sand off his feet, he glanced around, noticing that they were very close to the ocean, but very far from the jungle.

"Do you see anything Alpha?" Tango asked, none of them moving from the plane.

"No, actually," he said and turned back to them, "I think it's-"

A burst of sand and wind from behind him made them all jump. He turned around with wide eyes to see the wolf monsuno now standing a few feet behind him, hissing with anticipation. Now that he could see it closer, Alpha saw that the fur actually seemed to be glowing. It was as if it was more of a white ball of light then a physical being. It didn't even look like a typical monsuno, since it only seemed to have the qualities of a wolf rather than a hybrid of animals. It edged a little closer a stirred Alpha from his thoughts.

"Tripwire, launch!"

The core spun out towards the monsuno quickly in a ray of yellow. But before it could hit, the monsuno brought it's paw down on it, catching the core between its sharpened claws.

"It-It caught the core!" X-Ray exclaimed as the rest of them gasped. Alpha stood astonished. The monsuno lifted its paw to look down at the core, and then back to Alpha. He stood still, not sure of whether to move quickly or to wait for one of his teammates to assist him. The monsuno edged closer to him slowly, but he stood his ground until it was practically breathing on him.

And then it _licked _him.

He was so caught off guard that he stumbled backwards and fell. The rest of them gawked at the motion. It sat back on its haunches, and started to pant, much like a dog. Alpha blinked dumbly before realizing he was covered in saliva. He shivered when he tried to move.

"Alpha!" Tango exclaimed, leaping from the plane. She ran to his side as Kilo trailed after her, paying more heed to the monsuno. Bravo and X-Ray continued to watch from the plane. Alpha stood slowly, looking at the monsuno. It got back up to its feet, and started walking back into the desert. He felt a tug when he watched it walking, almost as if he needed to follow it.

"... Alpha? Is something wrong?" Kilo asked. Alpha shook his head quickly, snapping out of his stupor. When he turned to his teammates, he saw that Tango also seemed to be entranced by the monsuno. There was another sound, and Bravo and X-Ray soon joined them.

"I... I think it wants us to follow," he said, scratching the back of his neck. Kilo raised a brow.

"Your not seriously thinking that are you?" Bravo exclaimed, "That beast just blew us out of the sky, after all."

"But it didn't," Tango said, still not taking her eyes off it.

"That's still the rogue monsuno that attacked yesterday," Kilo said, "If anything, we should be aiming to capture it-"

"Without any way of transporting it?"

Alpha looked at them as they continued to debate what to do, and sighed. There was no way they could walk towards the base in the jungle, especially since they had no way of knowing where to go, and going to the Southern desert base was suicide with Charlemange there.

And then there was this... _feeling_ that he got when looking at the monsuno. It was hard to describe, like a warm but cooling feeling that left him shivering a bit. He hadn't felt anything like it before. There was also a faint ringing in his ears, but that could've been from the crash.

"I... agree with Alpha." The all turned to X-Ray, shocked that he would say such a thing. The smaller teen had a blush of embarrassment streak across his cheeks, "I-I mean. It's not like we have anywhere else to go at this point! Not with the plane busted up the way it is."

"Hm... I still think that it's like walking into a trap," Bravo grumbled, crossing his arms tightly. Alpha chuckled, and started to follow after the monsuno.

"C'mon. We're the best that S.T.O.R.M. had to offer," he said as he took off in a jog, "If anyone can take on rogue monsuno, it's us!"

It was reassurance for his squad. He didn't actually want to capture the monsuno. His gut told him not to.

HLP

When the door to the hall opened, Jinja immediately stopped. The footsteps started to approach, and she could feel sweat start to form on her brow in anticipation. The people stopped short of her cell, probably in front of Chase's.

"Chase Suno," one of the voices said in a low tone.

"Commander Trey," Chase huffed back, "I see your still taking orders from Charlemange."

"And I see that your still a defiant brat," Trey said, "why is it that whenever there is a monsuno crisis, you're somehow involved?"

There was a pause as Chase let out a hum in thought, "bad habit I guess."

"... Well then. You wouldn't mind telling me everything you know about those new monsuno running around in the deserts. It's obvious that they need to be controlled from how powerful they are," Trey sneered.

Jinja inwardly groaned. So that's what it was about. Power. Typical for Charlemange.

"So S.T.O.R.M.'s just trying to use the monsuno, am I right?" Chase asked. It was then that Jinja started to slip her wrists slowly down from the bar, one of the cuffs still hanging on her wrist.

"Think what you will, those monsuno shouldn't be left running wildly in the world," Commander Trey said, staring intently.

"Aw. Isn't that noble of you," Jinja said sarcastically as she started to work on the other cuff, "I'm sure Charlemange would love to give you a commendation if you hadn't screwed up already."

"You stay quiet in there! You'll be questioned in a second," Trey snapped, "Now, where did these monsuno come from? And where are they at now?"

Chase had gone silent. Jinja stopped when nothing was said. She couldn't see what was going on, but knew that something was wrong with him.

"... Hey! Suno!" Trey said, snapping his fingers a few times, probably snapping Chase out of whatever daze he was in, "I'll give you until the count of five to tell me what you know about the monsuno."

"You don't have to count to me like I'm a kid," Chase retorted, "And chances are those monsuno are long gone out of the desert by now. I doubt you'll find them again."

"What makes you so certain?" Trey asked, suspicion ringing in his voice.

"ah... hmm... Just a hunch...?" Chase stuttered out. Whatever he was trying to keep from Trey was obvious. Trey wasn't satisfied, and snapped his fingers again. Jinja heard footsteps approach and hastily put her hands up by the pipe with the one loosely around her free wrist.

"W-wait! What're you doing?" Chase asked frantically. The soldier stood in front of the cell, opening it with a smirk. He cracked his knuckles.

"Seeing that you don't quite care so much, might as well ask your little friend, eh?" Trey chuckled a bit, "Unless you want to tell me otherwise?"

The second the soldier got near, she slammed her fists down on his shoulders by his neck in. She grabbed the front of his uniform and slammed him into the wall. He let out a grunt and slumped to the floor. She finally undid the other cuff within a second before stepping out of the cell.

"Don't mind me, Commander," Jinja said with a smirk. Trey grit his teeth, and looked to the other soldier. Charging forward, the soldier swung his fist out in a wide punch. Jinja easily ducked down before swinging her kick up. Without hesitating, she took the front of their uniform and threw them into her open cell by the other soldier. She let out a huff before turning to Trey. He took another step back, and brought his hands up in a loose fighter stance.

"Don't think I'll go easy, you little-"

He let out a small gasp of surprise before crumpling to the ground. Chase and Jinja both stared for a moment, then looked at the pair of hands sticking out of the other cell in a fist.

"Yoo hoo, still in here," Drezz said, waving one of his hands. The two of them sighed. Jinja grabbed the keys on Trey's belt before going over to Chase's cell. She quickly undid the cuffs around his wrists, noticing the way he winced when moving.

"You okay?" she asked, looking at his wrist. There was a large red welt around his wrist, and some parts had started to bleed, trickling down his arm a bit.

"I'll live," he said, "But I'm not sure that's a good thing with Charlemange on her way."

"Then let's hurry," Jinja said. There was a clap, and they both turned to still see Drezz's hands hanging out of his cell. Jinja turned back to Chase with an unsure look.

"Should we let him out?" she asked. It wouldn't be fair to leave him behind, especially since he was the one to take out Trey. Still, he probably wasn't one to be trusted.

"Let me see the keys," he said. Jinja hesitated for a moment, but gave them up nonetheless. Instead of unlocking the cuffs, the two of them went to the front of the cell. For some reason he was wearing a S.T.O.R.M. soldier uniform, most likely how he managed to get in the base. He still wore his signature headband, but had a rather large bump on the side of his face that had started to turn purple.

"Help a guy out?" he said sheepishly, hanging his hands out a little. Chase kept his face serious, but undid the cuffs anyway. Drezz shook his wrists out as Chase put the keys in the door of the cell. Immediately, Jinja put a hand on his wrist.

"What are you doing?" she hissed in his ear, "I don't think we can trust him."

Chase was silent, and unreadable expression on his face. There was a flash in his eyes, and she thought that he would unlock the cell. Instead, he moved the keys away from the lock.

"You're right," he said, not looking up, "Let's go."

Jinja nodded and ran over to the door Trey came out of. There wouldn't be much time before the rest of S.T.O.R.M. would be on their way. As soon as she got through the door, however, it slammed behind her.

"Wait- Chase! Open this door right now!" she shouted, banging her fists against it. She could hear voices on the other side, and knew that whatever crazy plan Chase had, it wouldn't end well.

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A/N: Review Review Review!


	24. Chapter 24

A/N: Thanks to KaimelartheDreamer, ChasexJinjaForever, and Myra the Sark for the reviews.

Enjoy!

* * *

Jinja continued to pound against the door, though her shouts were muted through the steel. Chase let out a sigh. She hadn't heard the discussion he and Drezz had before Trey showed up, and at this point it would be hard to explain between that talk and the dream he had.

"... Alright Drezz," Chase said, going back to the cell with the Punk Monk inside, ignoring Jinja's continuing protests, "Before I let you out. What exactly do you know about the Hand of Destiny?"

Drezz started to chuckle, "Oh I see. You have a bone to pick with them."

Chase was silent. When Drezz started to talk about how the monsuno was extremely powerful, he also spoke about the types of people that would want to use it. That's when he mention the Hand. Chase needed as much information on them as possible, especially after meeting with those four in the desert.

"Just tell me what you or Dr. Tallis knows about them," Chase said, crossing his arms. Jinja had stopped banging on the door, though it was hard to tell whether she was waiting on the other side or not. Drezz started to bite at the inside of his cheek in thought.

"Well. Don't know about Dr. Tallis, but _I _know that there was a group of people in the desert working for the Hand," Drezz said, smirking a bit at Chase's reaction, "They were after rare monsuno. Some that have been forgotten by time."

"Really?" Chase asked, raising a brow. Drezz nodded.

"We actually encounter those four in the desert. They were looking for a certain one that had escaped, but then they left for this base."

"And you're here for the monsuno as well," Chase said, "Is that monsuno the one that the Hand of Destiny is looking for."

Drezz shrugged, "I can't be sure."

Trey, who had been ignored for the most part, suddenly let out a groan. He didn't move immediately, but was certainly waking up.

"Now are you gonna let me out and give you a hand at finding it, or just wander around the base for a while?" Drezz asked. Chase bit his lip. If the Hand really was after the monsuno, he didn't have time to lose (not to mention Charlemange coming closer every second). And chances are, Drezz knew where the monsuno is if he was wandering around the base while Chase was unconscious.

"Okay," Chase said, and unlocked the cell door. Drezz stretched a bit when he got out, then looked to the door that Jinja had gone through.

"I'm guessing your girlfriend is going to be a bit irked," he remarked. Chase flushed around the ears a bit at the comment.

"Ah. Ngn. She's just a friend," he said quickly, "Let's just go through a different way."

Even though there was a part of him that was filled with doubt, Chase knew that he had to find the monsuno on his own. There was another part of him that knew that too much at stake now that they were in the base, and his dream hadn't helped reassure him that everything was fine in the world either.

Which is why he couldn't depend on Jinja, at least for the moment. Even last night she and the rest of his friends wanted to quit. That was time they couldn't afford to waste.

"This way," Drezz said, stirring Chase from his thoughts. The two of them walked down the hall, and found that it was one of the less occupied ones, with no guards or soldiers in continued for a few halls before they reached another room that had a sign above that read "SECURITY."

"Of course. We'll be able to find the monsuno easier with a map and video footage," Chase said to himself. The two of them entered the security room, finding that there was another door on the other side, with computer screens lining the walls. The lights were off, and there was no one else around (which only made Chase feel even more uneasy since it was suppose to be the room that had people watching the base).

"Alright, hold on a second," Drezz said and walked over to some of the screens. His eyes glanced over them all quickly, and then he pointed to the other door, "There's a way to the monsuno through the other door here, but it's got a lot of other rooms and halls to go through."

"Oh," Chase said, a bit dumbly and looked over to the other screens on another wall. It was probably the best idea to go with Drezz to get the monsuno. Even if it meant letting the monsuno fall into Dr. Tallis' hands, it was better then what S.T.O.R.M. or the Hand of Destiny were planning to do with it.

Chase saw movement on one of the screens, and walked over. The camera he was looking through was towards the back of the base, and had a familiar face popping out from around a corner, looking out for guards.

"Hey Drezz, your crew showed up," Chase said, turning to the man. Drezz shot up with a look that was mixed with shock and anger. He quickly came over and looked at the screen. The girl (if Chase remembered right, her name was Throttle) was still looking around before darting through the back entrance. A second later, another face popped out. When Drezz spotted them, his expression became blank.

"Oh."

"... Oh?" Chase repeated. Drezz grabbed the map and started to head for the other door.

"You coming?" he asked.

"What about the other Punk Monks? What're they doing here?" Chase asked, raising a brow. Drezz didn't answer, and went through to the back hallway. There was something going on with them, but Drezz wasn't talking. Sighing, Chase gave one last glance to the screens before running after the man, barely missing the image of all _four_ Punk Monks running into the base.

HLP

Jinja practically stomped her way down the hall, ignoring the possibility of running into more soldiers or guards along the way. What was that idiot thinking? Especially since it meant that he was now alone with Drezz and Trey without any way to protect himself.

Earlier when she stopped pounding against the door, she reached for a core and found that they had all been taken. Perfect. Just one more thing to find.

"As soon as this is all over, I'm gonna kill him," Jinja continued to grumble down the hall. She stopped, then bit her lip in thought. What made Chase want to do this on his own all of a sudden? He was never like this before. Even when it came to finding his father, she and Bren were the first two people he had come to for help.

There was a sound in one of the halls, and she took off again. It was hard to maneuver around in this place, but the one saving grace was that she had managed to dodge and avoid running into anyone the whole time. She turned another corner (which honestly looked like the last) and saw a large door at the end of the hall. When she went through, she found herself in the large landing hanger for the S.T.O.R.M. ships.

It was extremely wide and tall, probably meant for all the different sized ships that S.T.O.R.M. owned. There were currently a few jeeps and jets around, along with various crates along the walls.

'I'll probably have to get through here to get to the other halls,' Jinja thought. She had no real idea of where to go at this point, whether to go after Chase or to try to find her cores (and it didn't help that everything looked the same). She opted on heading for the nearest hall and deciding then.

She stopped when she saw the large hanger doors to the desert open. She quickly hid behind some of the crates, watching as a helicopter came in and landed. Wind started to blow throughout the room, from both the weather and the helicopter. A few seconds later, the blades on the chopper slowed, and the doors slid back into place.

'Is that Charlemange?' she thought, watching carefully. If that was the case, she would have to hurry to find Chase. Her thoughts stopped when she saw the two boys that exited out with two soldiers leading them.

"BREN! DAX!"

The two of them looked up with surprise, that was quickly replaced with relief. The soldiers, on the other hand, were a lot less friendly. One of them started to head for her, but was stopped when Dax suddenly tackled them to the ground. Jinja wasted no time and ran over to the other, who was split between helping the other soldier or watching over Bren.

Jinja charged over with a wide kick, and the soldier was soon on the ground. She looked over to see that Dax had been successful in knocking out the guard as well, even with handcuffs on. Her attention went to the other teen, who smiled awkwardly at her.

"Gee Bren, you could've done something other then just stand there," she said to him, dusting her pants off. Bren gave her a half smile and shrugged.

"It didn't really look like you needed my help," he said as Dax got back to his feet. The cuffs around his hands dropped to the ground.

"How'd you get those off so fast?" Bren said astonished. Dax smirked, and tossed him a set of keys.

"The guards don't pay as much attention as you would think, Glasses," he said. Bren started to grumble as he tried to get his own cuffs off. Jinja took a look at the two of them, noticing they were a bit on the ragged side. Bren's face was sunburnt on his cheeks and nose, and Dax had bits of char on his face, as if he ran through a fire. They both were covered in dust and sand as well.

"By the way Jinja, is Chase with you?" Bren asked as he jabbed the key around in one of the cuffs. Jinja gave him an exasperated look.

"He went and locked me out of the room he and Drezz were in," she said, "And I'm pretty sure he's gone off into the base on his own.

"Wait. Drezz is here too?" Dax asked.

"Yeah. It was really weird actually," she responded, looking to the ground. Bren finally succeeded in getting one of the cuffs off, and gave a sigh of relief.

"Well, Drezz is a weird guy in general," he said, getting to work on the other cuff.

"So I guess that just means we have to go after him right?" Dax asked, "So where did he go?"

"I'm not sure," Jinja said, and quickly looked away to avoid his gaze. She still didn't forget what happened last night, and she tried to push it out of her thoughts at the moment. Especially since the three of them had to find Chase-

"... Wait a sec," she said and looked around, "Where's... Beyal?"

Both Bren and Dax stopped and looked at each other, and then looked back at the helicopter.

"I think he's still in there," Bren said. Jinja gave him a glare before walking over. She suddenly gasped a bit, and started to run over when she saw Beyal stumble out, leaning heavily on a soldier.

"Oh. Everyone," he said, a bit casually. The soldier didn't pay any heed to them, and let Beyal try to stand on his own when they finally got close. Dax eyed the soldier wearily until they lifted their helmet off, revealing the face of a woman with short brown hair and brown eyes.

"... Wait a sec. You're one of the Desert Wolves," he said. She raised a brow, but didn't say anything. Behind her, the larger soldier stepped out with a large mallet in tow. He also set his helmet aside, showing a tan face and long black hair pulled back.

"But if you two are here. Does that mean that One-Eyed Jack is around?" Bren asked, eyes going back and forth between them. The two people exchanged looks.

"Jack is a bit... preoccupied at the moment," the large man, Pozzo, said, "We're here on behalf of Master Ey."

They all perked up at the mention of the old monk, especially Beyal. The woman, Bekka put a hand on his shoulder before looking to the rest of them.

"I'm afraid there's a dark presence over your group," she said, eyes glistening a bit, "monsuno energy has been thrown into chaos, and nothing is done, so will the world."

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A/N: We're finally getting down to the nitty gritty of what's_ really_ going on.

Review Review Review!


	25. Chapter 25

A/N: Some of you probably thought I was kidding when I said everyone would play a part. Nope.

Thanks to ChasexJinjaForever for the review!

Enjoy!

* * *

The small group in the hanger stood silently at the mute woman's proclamation. Dax looked towards the rest of them for some sort of reaction, and Bren suddenly let out a laugh.

"That's a good one," he said. His smile quickly disappeared when the two Desert Wolves had solemn faces, "Ah. You're serious."

"I'm afraid so," Pozzo said, "About a week ago, Master Ey spoke of a group trying to obtain a forbidden source of monsuno energy. You have seen the other monsuno and the changes in the weather correct?"

Bren pouted a bit, "Yeah. But it's also monsoon season in the tropic zone. Of course there's going to be storms this time of year."

"But you did see the monsuno?" Bekka pressed, "And what they are capable of."

This time Bren was silent. Dax nodded to the woman.

"They have been roaming in the desert for the past two days," he said, "They... don't have a controller though. Do they?"

"It's hard to say," Pozzo said, "But it seems that is what the Hand is looking for."

"When Master Ey came to me," Bekka started, looking down a bit as she spoke, "he had shown four people enveloped in a green light encountering your group. Afterwards, a shadow had descended upon the land. He said if it's not stopped, it could poison the rest of the world."

"Okay okay! It's really bad I get it," Bren said waving his hands a bit. Both Dax and Jinja rolled their eyes.

"... So those people we saw before were them," Dax said, putting a hand to his chin in thought, "And whatever they did in the desert had to do with those monsuno?"

"It makes sense since those monsuno attacked us right afterwards," Beyal said, then scratched his head a little, "... Right?"

Dax watched him for a moment. The monk's memory for the past few days had been a little spotty, even after the fight with the owl monuno.

"I'm afraid that's not all," Bekka continued, "The shadow from before. It lingers over Chase, as if to drive him to insanity. Whatever those people had done, had stirred something deep inside, bringing out these feelings."

She glanced briefly at Beyal, a movement that didn't go unnoticed by Dax. He thought for a moment about what she said about Chase though. Ever since they had left that cave with those people in it, Chase had been rather... distracted with what was going on. He hardly acknowledge what was going on with the rest of them for the past day, more obsessed with finding some cave (which Dax assumed didn't even exist). Hell, he even left Jinja on her own in the base to do god knows what.

"As much as I hate to say it, Chase has been more absent minded," Jinja sighed, "earlier he had a dream that seemed to disturb him. And when Drezz brought up the Hand of Destiny, he became even more distracted."

"Maybe that dream was of attractive women," Bren laughed a bit, only to get glared at by Jinja. He immediately looked to the ground and mumbled an apology.

"No, she's right," Dax said, looking to the ground as well, "That night we were in the canyon, he wanted to leave on his own to find this... Cave. He kept saying that it had to do with the Hand of Destiny, and I got the feeling that there's something about that last encounter that got him so fired up."

"... Then. We should go after him," Beyal said, "Shouldn't we?"

Just then, the doors to the hanger reopened. And they all saw a female figure standing there, coat billowing a bit in the wind.

"_That you should!"_ she said, walking forward and eyeing them all with a curt smile.

"Charlemange," Dax growled under his breath. About time the woman showed up, he was looking forward to a rematch. The woman stopped when she was still a good distance away from them, and took out a core.

"Now that you're all here, tell me where Chase Suno is at and I won't let my monsuno rip you all apart," she said, eyeing them all with a predator's stare as the doors to the desert closed behind her. Dax clenched his teeth, and looked around. He wouldn't mind letting Bren and Jinja wander around the base for Chase, but the thought of leaving them with Beyal when he was still getting possessed or whatever wasn't a risk he was going to take. It was then that he noticed that everyone was eyeing Charlemange, except for the mute woman, who had a careful eye on the monk. Almost as if she was expecting something...

"... How about I just knock you down a few notches," Dax declared after a moment, taking a few steps towards the Commandant.

"Dax, what are you doing?" Jinja hissed.

"Go find Baby Suno," Dax responded, not bothering to look at the red-haired girl, "He needs you guys."

"... C'mon Jinja," Bren said in a whisper. Dax turned back to them a little to see him trying to tug Jinja along. That's when their gazes finally met. Dax could tell there was a wide range of emotions in her eyes, most of which seemed very distraught (but if it was because of what happened between the two of them or because of Chase, he wasn't sure). She shook her head, and allowed herself to be pulled along by Bren. The group ran off towards the door, but Dax took a hold of Bekka's arm as the rest of them got out of earshot.

"... You're keeping something," Dax said, eyes narrowing, "Aren't you?"

She was hesitant, and cast a glance ahead to the group before speaking.

"This shadow... It had extended its reach over Beyal as well," she said, "Whatever those four in the green light want, it has to do with those two."

Dax watched her expression fall. It made sense that she would be so protective over Beyal, seeing that the temple had been taken over by S.T.O.R.M. and Master Ey passing. Still he didn't have the heart to say that something had already possessed Beyal at this point. Instead, he loosened his grip on her arm and turned back to Charlemange.

"Go," he said, "I'm leaving them all to you."

It was unlike him to trust some of their many enemies, but with things going south, it was the best option. Dax didn't see the smile that Bekka gave, though he blushed when she leaned close and whispered a thank you in his ear. There was a loud thud as the metal door to the hall closed behind him.

"Zey all must put a lot of trust in you to leave you with me," Charlemange purred, taking out the multi-launcher, "though it seems a little misplaced."

"Your face will be misplaced once I'm through with you," Dax smirked, pulling out two cores. The woman started chuckle darkly.

"Oh dear boy," she said, placing two cores into the slots, "There's a reason why I let zem go and allowed you to stay!"

"Boost! Airswitch!"

"Driftblade! Blackbullet!"

"LAUNCH!"

The cores erupted in a shower of blue and yellow light, four monsuno facing off. Dax was just grateful that the hanger was large enough for the all the monsuno to fight in without causing too much damage (not that he would mind if they did).

"Say Charley," Dax said loudly, "What is that you want with that one monsuno anyway? You don't seem to mind everyone running around in your base looking for it."

"Oh ho ho. It's not ze monsuno that I am after," Charlemange laughed, "It iz your little group! Driftblade, attack!"

HLP

They turned another corner, finding nothing but more empty halls. This had gone on for a few minutes, and was making Chase a bit nervous.

"Are we almost there?" he asked in a low voice. There were still soldiers walking around in the halls every so often. Thankfully, Drezz was able to pose as one because of the uniform, which helped give the illusion that Chase was just being escorted to another part of the base whenever they did meet up with another soldier.

"Almost. We have two or three more halls to go through if we went the right way," Drezz said, peeking around another corner. They had gone about half way through the hall when there was a cold shiver that ran down Chase's spine. He stopped, looking around the other halls, "... Chase?"

He shook his head, trying to get this feeling away. It was like something was trying to pull him along towards another direction. He looked in the direction and saw a door at the end of the hall.

"Hold on," Chase said, and walked over. He pushed one of the buttons, and found that the door had not been locked, surprisingly.

The room itself was fairly large and circular, a single light source in the middle, a few workings desks as well. The room glowed blue from the different computers and flood lights on the floor. A variety of glass containers lined the walls, some having glowing lights inside.

"... They're cores," Chase stated, looking at the yellow lights inside the cases. He immediately noticed the only blue ones in the room and quickly went over. He let out a sigh.

"Locke."

He tried opening the case, but found that it stuck fast. He grabbed one of the tools that were on a desk and pried it open. He looked inside to see that all his cores were inside, along with Jinja's.

'I'll have to get them back to her,' he thought, then frowned, 'Maybe she won't be as mad when I do.'

"What'd you find?" Drezz asked, standing in the hall still.

"Just some help," Chase said, putting his cores back into place, along with Jinja's. He looked around at the rest of the room, trying to find any orange lights, "They didn't take your cores did they?"

Drezz gave him an odd look, and looked around the room.

"Ah. Didn't bring my monsuno along," he said, not making eye contact, "It's not like I would need them right? Now let's go."

Chase raised a brow, but followed Drezz out the door. It was a bit odd that he would say that (especially since the Punk Monk's had some of the more powerful monsuno out there), but Chase shrugged to himself. They needed to get back on track anyway.

"By the way, what are these monsuno that the Hand is looking for?" Chase asked, "You said before that they are ancient or something like that." Drezz gave him a look, debating of whether to tell Chase or not. He gave a sigh.

"These monsuno. They have been sealed away since monsuno essence had existed," Drezz said, walking forward a bit faster, "Their power is raw, and unrivaled. You know how monsuno now have other components combined with monsuno essence in order to create monsuno, right?"

"... Yeah. Dr. Tallis combined machinery with regular monsuno. And others have been combined with other types of DNA," Chase said. After all, Locke had been made from his own DNA, giving them the bond that they had.

"That's right," Drezz nodded, "But you see, these monsuno don't have those impurities. They are made up of nothing but monsuno essence. Truly the purest monsuno in the world."

'And if someone uses these monsuno, they'll be unstoppable,' Chase thought, then turned to Drezz, "So was that what that large burst of energy was in the desert? Someone had caught one? Is it the one that's here?"

"I honestly can't say," Drezz said, "But these monsuno were probably formed when that outburst of energy happened. That or something wrong happened along the way."

"Like what?"

Drezz sighed, looking around the halls as they came to another impasse, "the outburst of energy was probably from the monsuno not being able to physically appear. It had probably stayed in it's original essence form and disappeared, got caught, or latched itself to an organic form nearby."

Immediately, images of Jon Ace flashed in Chase's mind.

"... So you're saying that the monsuno's energy could've combined with someone or something?" Chase asked, a bit frantically. The last time that had happened, Jon wound up as a human hybrid, something that his father was trying to find a cure to. Drezz, surprisingly, shook his head.

"Not combined. More like possess," he said, "this energy isn't as unstable as the stuff S.T.O.R.M. uses. Like I said, it's just pure energy of some of the oldest monsuno. If anything, it would be more along the lines of an actual consciousness. Which is why they don't need all those other components like regular monsuno."

Chase was silent. So this monsuno had become less physical and was now possessing something out there... Possessing...

He gasped in realization, making Drezz jump a bit.

"Drezz," he said, "What if it possessed a _person_? Is it possible for them to become a monsuno hybrid?"

Drezz gave him a confused look, "Well. I'm not sure what a monsuno hybrid is. If anything, it would be along the lines of a parasite. Feeding off of the person or thing until it dies. Then it would probably move onto the next living thing nearby."

Chase bit his lip, remembering the last thing that Dax had told him yesterday. So they weren't talking to Beyal yesterday at all.

They were talking to a monsuno.

* * *

A/N: Review Review Review!


	26. Chapter 26

A/N: Thanks to ChasexJinjaForever, Lover, and the guest for the reviews!

Enjoy!

* * *

"Klipse," Jeredy said, looking at the man on the screen. He never liked seeing the man, it always meant trouble. The man gave a chuckle.

"Now now, Jeredy. Don't be so bitter," he said, "After all, things use to be so good between us."

Jeredy frowned, "Yeah. Before you turned into a psychopath seeking world domination. Not to mention all the times you attacked me and my son."

"Oh ho ho. Details."

"What do you want?"

Klipse was holding a glass of wine, swirling it absently in his hand as he thought. He was obviously pausing because of whatever important information he was holding.

"There's a certain monsuno that has been sighted by S.T.O.R.M., or so I hear," he said, "And I know that a certain group is also looking into this monsuno as well."

"... Who?" Jeredy asked, eyes narrowing. There were many enemies that he had made in the past, not to mention the groups that had been specifically trying to track Chase down, that were interested in monsuno energy.

"There's a report going around from one of my sources," Klipse said, "And apparently there's a faction from the Hand of Destiny that is looking into these monsuno. And I won't lie Jeredy, but there's a lot more interesting details then one would think about that group."

Jeredy got silent. Chase had recently discovered that his mother had been taken years ago by the Hand of Destiny. Of course, Jeredy had been keeping that information away from him for a while now, but that just made it all the worse.

"Really? Care to throw something at me?" Jeredy asked. Klipse started to chuckle darkly again.

"I _could_ do that for you. But as you know: Everything costs a price!"

Jeredy sighed deeply. So Klipse was after something that he had. Why else would he be willing to try and reason with him.

"Alright. So what is it that you want?"

Klipse's eyes gleemed bright, "I want the crystal that you have. The one with the monsuno energy contained inside!"

Jeredy's eyes widened a bit, "How do you know about the Crystal of Tav Kagah?"

"Again. Information from one of my sources. Actually just got that little bit of info within the hour," Klipse said, examining his nails a bit, then brushing them against his coat, "if you hand it over, I'll tell you everything that I know about the group."

Jeredy leaned back, looking down at his hands. He didn't even have the crystal any more. That monsuno had taken it, which only meant that it really was valuable in some way. But if Klipse had any information on the group that had taken his wife, that took some priority. Not to mention what Chase would think if he passed this opportunity.

"... Is there something else that I could interest you in?" Jeredy asked. Klipse shook his head for a moment. Then it was suddenly replaced with a bemused look.

"Now that you mention it, there _is_ something that I want," he purred, "you see, I am interested in that information you have stored on that little tablet of yours. I know that you've kept nearly all your files on there, and that your son currently has it. All you have to do is give me his coordinates."

Jeredy sighed, wincing a bit when he nudged his injured shoulder against his chair. He had given the tablet to Chase for many reasons, one of which was to keep it away from people like Klipse.

"... No," he said, looking down, then back up to Klipse with narrow eyes, "I'm not letting you get your hands on my research or Chase."

"Alright. Don't hand it over," Klipse said, raising his hands a bit, "You'll see soon enough that I'll have your research AND taken out that brat of a son of yours."

Klipse paused, then his expression darkened a bit, "But I will give you a bit of information for free. If only as a warning. You've seen what monsuno the Hand has used correct?"

"Yes," Jeredy said, thinking back to the shapeshifter cores that Chase described.

"Well. It took a lot of effort to perfect such technology. Many failed experiments I might add," Klipse said, and leaned forward a bit, "it wasn't just monsuno that they had experimented on. The Hand has taken people for more then just monsuno sight."

"... What are you saying...?"

Klipse gave a sigh, "C'mon, Jeredy. You should know better on what a scientist is willing to do for the sake of research. I'm saying that there might be more then just shapeshifter monsuno out there that needs to be watched over."

With that, the screen went dark.

HLP

There was another resounding splash in the giant cavern with the lake, followed by a long string of curses that echoed throughout.

"Are you going to give up yet?" Hargrave shouted, still sitting down and his mechanic arms in front of him. He had been working on them for the past few hours ever since they started to malfunction. Six was also sitting close by, though he kept his eyes closed. A few seconds later, Dom Pyro emerged from the water with a loud gasp.

"... Save it old man!" he said, swimming back to the edge and climbing out. He was soaking wet, though every time he started climbing the walls he started stripping off his wet clothes in frustration. At the moment he still word an undershirt and pants, but was fumbling around with trying to get them off.

"Stupid walls. Stupid water...!" he grumbled under his breath as he peeled his wet undershirt off and threw it at his growing pile of clothes. Hargrave gave a sigh.

"If you're going to act like an animal, have the decency to do it somewhere out of my sight," he said. Dom Pyro shot him a furious look, and stomped back over to the wall. His fingers were scraped raw at this point, some bleeding. He didn't care. He had to get out of this place. Ever since they got here there was this strange feeling that someone was watching them. (It also didn't help that he would rather be far away from the other two, especially that snooty butler).

Unfortunately for him, when they landed in the water earlier, most of his equipment ended up malfunctioning, including most of his climbing gear. He cursed to himself for making such a stupid move (but then again, the butler was the one who pushed him inside).

He was about half way up the curve before something came soaring close by. Three more came by and he lost his footing, plummeting back down into the wretched lake.

"Oh. Lady Madea," Hargrave said as the woman landed gracefully in front of him and Six. Her three followers landed right behind. Dom Pyro swam back to the edge of the lake, a hand under his chin as he tapped his fingers impatiently. So these were the ones that the old man hired.

"Delivered that information to Dr. Klipse like you said," Madea said, then pulled out an envelope. Hargrave took it.

"Ah. You met up with my source I presume?"

Madea nodded, and started twirling her hair in her fingers, "I was a bit surprised when I saw the little lowlander rat. Interesting, I must say."

"Klipse has his way with reasoning with people," Hargrave said, pocketing the envelope, "Did you also confront Chase suno?"

Madea gave a pout, "Unfortunately, he was nowhere to be found. A pity really. I was looking forward to crushing him!"

Dom Pyro couldn't help but roll his eyes. Everyone seemed to want a piece at Chase Suno nowadays.

"If you wouldn't mind, m'lady," Hargrave said, "Do you have any climbing tools?"

Madea snapped her fingers, and one of her followers threw a bag on the ground. Hargrave nodded to her, and looked inside. He gave a sneer to Dom Pyro.

"Well? Get out of there so we can leave."

Grumbling, Dom Pyro lifted himself up and out, shaking himself off a bit and throwing on his still-damp clothes back on. He noticed that Madea looked at him with a raised brow, but didn't say anything.

"Well. I suppose we ought to get back to Klipse," Hargrave said, then turned back to Six, "Come along boy, we need to-"

He let out a small gasp, and they all turned to see that the teen had vanished.

"Six? Where are you? Get back here!" the butler shouted, then let out a huff when he walked over to his mechanical arms. He folded them till he was able to hold them under his arm, and stalked over to the entrance of the caves. It had gotten considerably dark, and it was hard to tell where anything was in the shadows of the cavern. Sure enough, the old man tripped after walking in a few steps.

"Ugh! Damn," he cursed. Dom Pyro couldn't help but laugh.

"Silly old man!" he chuckled, then grabbed the bag on the ground, riffling through to find a few ziplines.

"Shut it!" Hargrave retorted, and brushed himself off, "You know we have to get back to Klipse WITH the clone."

"Actually," Madea said, "Klipse told me that he was coming this way himself."

"Eh?! W-why?" Hargrave asked. Madea gave him a shrug, then picked up a device from the bag.

"Don't know. Don't care," she said, "All I know, is that I need to be paid."

Hargrave grumbled as he limped over to them, and threw a small bag at her. Catching it with one hand, Madea looked inside with a grin.

"Thank you for the payment," she said, then snapped her fingers. Her three followers started to run back to the water fall where they leapt off from. She started to saunter away. Dom Pyro looked back and forth between her and Hargrave, who was grumbling a bit under his breath (probably just as frustrated on staying here to find that useless clone). Surprisingly, when she passed by Dom, she stopped.

"... You're the other mercenary that Klipse hired right?" Madea said, looking at him. He only sneered back. She laughed, "Calm down. I could careless about how many thugs Klipse has on his side. He and S.T.O.R.M. can fight all they want over monsuno."

Dom Pyro frowned at her, crossing his arms, "That's funny coming from the one who's played both sides before."

"Oh ho ho," she giggled, "I don't see the point in siding with any _sides._ All that matters is who's on top."

She put her hands on her hips, "And I'm not going to lie, but it's not Klipse or S.T.O.R.M., or even that fool Jeredy that's going to be on top in the end."

Dom Pyro raised a brow, "And who _is_ going to be on top?"

Madea smirked, and started to walk away.

MDL

"Coast looks clear," Throttle said under her breath, looking around the corner. She quickly ran over to the next corner, looking around again for any sign of S.T.O.R.M. troops. Finding none, she walked back, "Clear!"

Ratchet was the next to run out, also taking heed as to not wander too far into the next hall. There was a loud thud, followed by a grunt, and the two of them looked back to the door they ran through.

"Urg…! Crap!"

"Careful with that, Tinker! The last thing we need is the Wild Core bomb going off with us near it!" Throttle hissed. The man stumbled out, carrying a large case.

"Erk…! You want to hold this thing?" He huffed, and stumbled forward, "Hey, Drezz. Why'd Dr. Tallis want this place blown up again?"

"Because he'd rather see that monsuno gone then in the hands of the enemy," Drezz replied, trailing behind them, "From the way he sounded, it must be serious."

"I just don't get why he would go so far as to destroy it," Tinker said, scratching his head, "After all, we could just take it instead-"

"Halt!"

They all turned to see a commander of S.T.O.R.M. standing at the end of the hall. He looked at them all before his eyes widened in surprise, staring directly at Drezz.

"I warned you before about wandering these halls the first time you came through here!" he said. The Punk Monk just gave a confused look, and turned to the rest of his crew, who just shrugged.

"You better tell me where Suno went, or things'll get messy!" the commander said, reaching for a weapon on his belt.

"Why the hell would I know where Chase Suno is at? It's not like I'm his babysitter," Drezz said, only to get an angry look shot at him. The commander grit his teeth, and aimed a taser at them. Before he could shoot, Throttle sprinted forward, and swept his feet out from under himself. She quickly grabbed his weapon and shot, making the man cry out as electricity ran through his body until he went limp.

"Nice job, Throttle," Drezz said.

"What do you think he meant?" Tinker asked. Drezz's expression hardened a bit.

"You mean about Drezz being here already?" Ratchet asked, then clenched her fist, "Probably those no good creeps that got the jump on us last night."

…..

_"Well? Who are you?" Drezz asked as the four hooded figures stood around the group. One of them chuckled lowly, stepping towards him. Without another word, they surged forward at a blinding speed before pouncing at him. Drezz let out a gasp before he hit the ground._

_"Drezz!"_

_He looked up, but found that he was staring into two pools of bright green that shimmered beneath the hood of the person. He felt a pain in his chest that only got worse as he tried to look away. Finally, he let out a gasp, and the person got off. His body felt oddly weak, as if he had been awake for weeks. He felt a pair of hands shift him into a sitting position._

_"Drezz?"_

_"Can you here us?"_

_He looked around, seeing his comrades worried looks. Before he could respond, there was laughter in the air._

_"Thanks for the look!" An oddly familiar voice said. When Drezz looked forward, he could've sworn that he was looking into a mirror._

_"We'll be sure to send Chase your regards!" his doppelgänger smirked. The other three figures said something quickly, and they vanished in a flash of green._

_….._

"If that guard was implying what I think he was," Drezz said, turning to hall that the commander came from, "Then maybe we can get a little payback!"

* * *

A/N: A little over half way done with this story!

Review Review Review!


	27. Chapter 27

A/N: Just a heads up, the next time I update (which might be in a few weeks), it'll look like a few chapters are missing. That's because I'm rewriting the beginning so that it's more condensed/ more details (probably just merging chapters).

Anyway, thanks to ChasexJinjaForever, Myra the Sark, and KaimelartheDreamer for the reviews!

Enjoy!

* * *

The small group had ran through the halls cautiously, trying to figure out the best route to get back to Chase. The more they ran, the more awake Beyal felt. The ride in the helicopter wasn't too bad, although it wasn't too good with the turbulence the whole time. The only consolation was the soothing sound of Bekka's humming, which reminded him of the quiet temple halls in Tibal.

"Now which way?" Bren asked as they stopped. Beyal was stirred out of his thoughts and looked up to see three separate halls ahead of them.

"Well, Chase had locked himself in a hall that led more into the center of the base. And I'm sure that would be towards the right," Jinja said, and took off in that direction. They all ran as well (though Bren seemed to be winded already). It didn't take them long to get to another set of halls afterwards that looked exactly like the last.

"This place is just one big maze," Bren grumbled, "There's gotta be an easier way to find him."

Beyal thought for a moment, closed his eyes, and let out a steady breath. If he could try to focus enough, maybe he could find Chase's presence (or at least his monsuno), or get some sort of vision. A hand on his shoulder made him jump a little, and he saw Bekka giving him a look.

"... What is it?" he asked.

"Maybe... We should just try to find Chase," she said, almost silently, "You know... Without monsuno sight."

He raised a brow, but nodded a little. He had to admit that there was something wrong with himself, especially with all the blackouts. That only made him want to meditate even more to find out the answer, but knew it wasn't the time for that.

"By the way," Bren said as they went down another hall, a bit slowly this time, "did Master Ey say anything about the monsuno that have been running around? You know. The white ones?"

Both Pozzo and Bekka stopped, and exchanged a worrying look.

"The monsuno are rare, to say the least," Bekka said, "Master Ey spoke about how... Pure they are. They have more raw energy then any monsuno ever created."

Beyal frowned. He could vaguely remember what those monsuno were like, and how powerful they were. Even the one they saw in the desert lashed out blindly at them was more vicious then any they had met. The three of them didn't even get the chance to launch out their monsuno.

"And I'm guessing Master Ey also told what would happen if they fall in the wrong hands?" Jinja asked. Bekka nodded.

"He said that the group- The Hand of Destiny- are planning on using the monsuno's energy for their own," she said, then looked up at Beyal, "he also said that-"

Suddenly, the halls were blanketed in darkness. The buzz of electricity from the lights and the walls going dead. A few seconds later, the flood lights on the ground lit up.

"What's going on?!" Bren asked, a bit shaky.

"I don't know!" Jinja hissed as they all stood still for a moment. There were footsteps that were echoing throughout the halls, but it was hard to tell where they were coming from. Staying silent, they could hear soldiers approaching.

"Someone cut the lights!"

"Which way to the main breaker?"

"Two floors down!"

"This way!" Jinja said, running back the way they came. Having no other option, the group followed. But with halls darkened it was hard to tell if they were going back to the hanger or further into the base.

"_..."_

They walked silently, picking up their pace a bit as the base's silence became eerie. It didn't help that the lights on the floor barely illuminated the path in front of them.

_"… This way."_

Beyal slowed down until he came to a stop, blinking. He looked around at the other halls that were around, knowing that voice wasn't from any guard. There was a flash of white down one of the halls, and he watched in for a moment. Bekka was the first to notice his odd behavior.

"... Beyal?"

He stood still, looking at all the halls. He heard a strange sigh down the hall, and without hesitating, he took off.

"Beyal wait!" Bekka shouted after him. He could hear the others talking, but were following along behind him. He couldn't explain it, but there was something in the back of his mind that seemed to hint at going that way. As if pulling or leading him along.

He bolted down a few more turns, almost loosing the others in the dark, until he stopped in front of a metal door. There was a hum of energy behind it, and a chill ran down his back.

"Ugh! Give us a hint next time Beyal!" Bren panted. Hesitating, Beyal pushed the button to the door. It was dark inside as well, and it was hard to tell how large it was inside.

"Where are we now?" Jinja asked, looking around for some sort of light. The guards footsteps could be heard, and Pozzo ushered them in, closing the door in case the guards should come. Beyal shuffled forward until something bumped against his foot. He reached forward, feeling a solid surface in front of him. As soon as he did, light appeared in front of them, blinding them a bit. After adjusting to the light, the group could see the light was actually coming from a dozen computer screens in front of them.

"... I'm guessing this is some sort of lab," Bren said, walking up to a few of the smaller screens, "Probably for research."

"Is there any way you can hack in and find Chase? Or even the security system?" Jinja asked, also looking onto some of the screens as well. Bren sat down and started typing into the computer. After a minute, he shook his head.

"I don't think so," he said, his brow furrowing, "It's weird. This computer has a lot less files then a typical S.T.O.R.M. computer- Oops!"

A file opened up, papers and pictures popping up on the different screens in a flash. Jinja immediately punched Bren in the shoulder.

"Good going, genius! Now they'll know we were here!" she said.

"It's not my fault! I wasn't expecting all this to come out," Bren said, waving his hands a bit in defense. Beyal looked over a few of the pictures that were being displayed. He stopped when he saw a picture of rock indentations, raising a brow.

"What's that?" he asked, pointing at it. They all looked.

"That... looks familiar," Jinja said, squinting.

"Really?" Beyal asked, looking at it again. It looked like an old stone slab with markings, which looked like some sort of language. Although, he found it strangely familiar as well. Bren suddenly gasp and snapped his fingers.

"I got it! It's from the jumpdrive!" he exclaimed, and started rooting in his pockets.

"Really? I don't remember the rock being that smooth..." Jinja said, looking closer.

"N-no. It's the same marks, just a different rock," Bren said, still digging in his pockets," huh. Maybe I dropped it somewhere..."

"Dropped what?" Beyal asked. Bren shot him a look.

"The jumpdrive from Dr. Tallis," he said, "Don't you remember?"

Beyal's gaze fell in thought. When did they get that? Was that what Chase got from the Punk Monks? He could hardly remember. Jinja saw his expression and immediately folded her arms with a glare at Bren.

"... Why do you keep giving me that look?" Bren said, only to glared at even more, "eh... Ok. Sorry Beyal."

The monk shook his head, "No. It's fine. It's just a little strange is all." He even though he had never seen this image that Dr. Tallis sent, it was an unsettling feeling that he found it a little familiar. He couldn't help but stare at it a bit longer...

"Hmm... I guess I dropped it somewhere," Bren said, then looked back at the screen. He paused for a moment before taking out the Core Tablet and plugging it into the screen.

"Bren. What are you doing now," Jinja asked, a bit annoyed.

"I'm finding out where S.T.O.R.M. took this picture," Bren said, "There's gotta be some connection between this picture and the monsuno that Dr. Tallis wanted us to find. Or even why Dr. Tallis even sent that to us."

"Why? What's so special about the monsuno here?" Beyal asked. Bren immediately stopped typing, and bit his lip. Jinja noticed the change and cleared her throat.

"Um. Beyal, don't you remember what we talked about last night? How the monsuno is… um… similar to another?" she said. Beyal gave her a blank look and shook his head.

"What monsuno? Is there another one of those white ones in the base?" Bekka asked, joining into the conversation. Bren had gone back to typing, as Jinja scratched her head.

"Well... Yesterday we got a message from Dr. Tallis," she said, addressing more to Beyal then the Desert Wolves, "He wanted us to come to this base because there was a powerful monsuno that S.T.O.R.M. had caught. It was similar to... well-"

Bren muttered something under his breath, a bit sullenly, and then there was a beep on the screen.

"Found it!" he said, immediately perking up, "This picture was taken in the desert. Towards the north."

A map appeared on one of the larger screens, showing where the base was and the rest of the area. Another dot started to flash up towards the top of the continent they were on.

"Didn't Chase say something about going up north yesterday?" Jinja said, putting a hand to her chin in thought.

"He said a lot of things yesterday. Honestly, I think the desert just got to him," Bren said, copying over the map to the Core Tablet. Jinja rolled her eyes.

"You know what I mean."

Beyal walked a few steps away from them, and sat down in the shadows of the room. He looked to the others for a brief moment, noting how distracted they were, and closed his eyes. The whole situation confused him, and knew there was one option that could help clear his head while also trying to find Chase. Their leader was running around the base on his own, and Dax was fighting Charlemange. They really didn't have time to be wandering like they were. He only needed one vision...

His breath became steady and slow, keeping his body still. The other's voices were becoming more muted as his thoughts cleared. It was like falling asleep, but he was suddenly jerked when he heard a voice.

His eyes shot open. But instead of seeing the dark room and the other four standing around the bright screens, he was in the mountains of Tibal.

"...How," he muttered to himself. He had many visions before, but none where he felt physically in another place. If anything, they were more like movies and images going on replay. Even now, the wind that blew across the snow sent a shiver down his spine.

"... Beyal." He quickly turned around, and a bit of relief but mostly surprise

"Mrs. Suno?" he asked. There were a few instance that he saw her in visions, and spoke with her after the incident at the Cave of Convergence. The woman was standing a few feet away. For some reason, she shook her head slowly.

"I'm afraid not," she said, only to get a confused look from Beyal, "... But I do have much to tell about the monsuno."

There was a roar in the distance, and when he turned around, he could've sworn he saw something white move amongst the snow.

"You mean the rogue monsuno?" Beyal asked, only to have Ms. Suno shake her head again..

"No, not rogue monsuno," she said, then looked up with a serious look, "The original monsuno of the Five Tribes."

There was a loud screech, and Beyal quickly turned to see a large serpent-like creature emerge from the snow. It quickly surged forward at him. He only had enough time to take in a quick breath before everything went black.

HLP

"Hurry up Bren!" Jinja snapped as Bren continued to type furiously away. They were all still gathered around the computer as footsteps and shouts from the guards in the halls got closer. If it came down to it, they could shut the screens off and hide somewhere in the pitch black room (though Bren imagined the guards would find them easily if the electricity had really come back on).

"It's not that easy to copy secret files you know. They're all encrypted," he said, not looking up, "We're just lucky that decoding isn't that hard when it comes to S.T.O.R.M. files. You'd imagine they'd have more security-"

Someone gasped, and he looked back to see Bekka staring off. He followed her gaze and saw that she was looking at Beyal, who was just meditating a few feet away.

"... What? He does that sometimes," he said. She shook her head.

"No. It's-"

The door flew open, and S.T.O.R.M. soldiers swept into the room.

"All of you, hands up!" one demanded. Bren's flew up without hesitation. Jinja gave a sigh, but held her's up as well, followed by the two Desert Wolves.

"... Hey you," one soldier said, tapping on Beyal's shoulder with the barrel of his gun, "Wake up-"

Beyal's eyes shot open, and he grabbed onto the gun, pulling the soldier down. The man was caught off guard and lost his footing. Without hesitating, Beyal slamming him to the ground. The other soldiers stood dumbly for a second before Beyal caught a hold of the nearest one and threw him backwards with an equal amount of force as the last. One of the guards raised their gun, but Beyal kicked it, making gunshots fire across the room.

"Get down!"

Bren was yanked to the ground as some of the shots hit the computer screens, showering them with glass. He could hear the grunts and shouts of the guards, but didn't dare to look up, keeping his hands on his head in defense. It finally got silent after what seemed like a few seconds. Bren looked up to see Beyal crouched over some of the guards as he stood in the doorway, light from the hall illuminating the dim room.

"W-wow Beyal!" Jinja said, amazed, standing up slowly. Bren looked around and saw that all the guards were sprawled out on the ground out cold. He let out steady breath, and stood as well. As soon as he did, Bekka and Pozzo stood in front of the two of them.

"Stay back," the large man said, him and the mute woman now glaring out at the monk. Jinja gave a confused look, and peeked over their shoulders. When Bren did as well, Beyal stood up, looking at them all with cold, green eyes.

* * *

A/N: Review Review Review!


	28. Chapter 28

A/N: Thanks to ChasexJinjaForever and the guest for the reviews. This took a lot longer then I thought.

Enjoy!

* * *

"Driftblade, Burst barrage!"

"Airswitch, Lightning claw!"

Explosions resounded throughout the room. Dax had been cornered behind some of the jeeps that were nearby as Charlemange still stood out in the open as the monsuno brawled. The lights had gone off a few minutes ago, and he could barely see thanks to the flashes from the monsuno and the few lights on the ground. A yellow flash came close, and he ducked down before seeing something quickly go backwards for an attack.

"Boost, go towards the right!" he exclaimed and saw a swift movement in front of him. His monsuno was quickly tackled to the ground by the second, and he cursed.

"Oh, you foolish boy," Charlemange chuckled, "You really 'ave no chance in beating me."

"I think you got your facts mixed up lady, 'cause you're the one that has no chance," Dax shouted back. Charlemange started to laugh darkly.

"You would actually be quite interested in the facts that I 'ave," she said, her voice dripping with malice, "some that even you would find interesting."

"Sure you do lady," Dax said, rolling his eyes a bit, "Airswitch, sonic screech!"

The monsuno let out a howl that soon gave a way to an open attack. The monsuno the let out a beam of blue light, narrowly missing Driftblade and hitting the wind started to howl throughout the room as a hole became visible through the smoke. Charlemange started to laugh even more.

"You'll have to do better then that! Blackbullet, Sonic Rain!"

Beams of yellow showered down upon them. Airswitch took the blunt of the hit and let out a cry. Blackbullet roared, and charged right past the blue monsuno and towards Dax. He cursed before he heard something behind him. He turned quickly to see Driftblade on top of the jeeps, snarling a bit when they became face to face. Dax cursed at how quickly he got cornered.

Before Blackbullet could move, both Airswitch and Boost tackled it to the side. Dax used that opening to started running for cover, but was stopped when he knocked off his feet and felt something heavy pin him down to the ground. He glanced up to see Driftblade snarling down at him.

"Well, well. I guess that's the end of this little game," Charlemange sighed, walking up to him, glancing at the other three monsuno battling each other,"though I guess it was to be expected."

Dax struggled to get free, but knew that the monsuno would be too heavy to lift off. Charlemange watched for a brief moment before putting a hand on her hip.

"I'm a little disappointed zat you would all come here so willingly though. Didn't even question the information zat you got on the monsuno."

Dax stopped for a moment, and eyed the woman.

"What did you say?"

"You heard me," she said, her eyes gleeming, "How else would Dr. Tallis gain top secret information on some powerful monsuno?

Boost and Airswitch were both struggling to fight against Blackbullet while also trying to get to Dax and Charlemange, being tossed back a few feet. Dax simply stayed still at what the woman revealed. He scoffed, she had purposely let Dr. Tallis get information, and probably told him to give the jumpdrive to Chase.

"So the whole thing was a trap," he said, "You made all that info up just to get us down here."

Charlemange shrugged, "Not all of it. Just on the monsuno that we 'captured.' Quite the coincidence that there would be powerful monsuno already running around, ne?"

Dax looked to the ground. So they had be played this whole time. Not just by Dr. Tallis, but by Charlemange.

"Oh. Don't look so down, boy," Charlemange said, crossing her arms, "You'll be reunited with your friends soon enough!"

"_Oh I don't think so my dear Charlemange!"_ A voice boomed from above theatrically. Both Dax and Charlemange turned to the large whole that was blasted a few minutes ago to see a figure standing there, arms on their hips dramatically as their figure was silhouetted.

"_For you see, justice will always strike down on the guilty!"_ With that, the figure launched a core straight at Driftblade, and from the core burst a red, snarling monsuno. It jumped at the other monsuno, causing it to release Dax. He didn't waste time to run for cover as the two started wrestling about. He looked over to see the person from before walking closer, staring defiantly at Charlemange. She only sneered.

"Jack," she said, unamused. The one-eyed man continued to glare for a bit before smirking.

"Freedomstriker, burning thunder!"

HLP

Chase and Drezz had been wandering from room to room, even when the lights went out. Chase was also hoping he would run into Jinja so that they could leave the base to find the others as soon as possible. Every empty corridor they would go down only made him more anxious.

'How could I have been so blind,' he thought to himself, thinking back to what Drezz had told him about the monsuno. Dax had tried to tell him last night that something was wrong with Beyal, but he was so caught up in finding his mother that he thought it was nothing. If anything, he thought it was just some other type of vision or something (he still wasn't accustomed to the whole Monsuno sight thing). But now it could be something worse.

He bit his lip in frustration. It had only been a day since they got to the desert, and already he was being a lousy leader. Sure, at one point he left the group on their own, but that was different. He could've easily helped Bren and Beyal instead of fighting Alpha. He could've listened to Jinja last night, even Dax.

He was so caught up in his thoughts that he ended up walking into Drezz's back. He mumbled an apology when he stepped back, but saw why Drezz had stopped. For some reason he had a strange look in his eyes that was unreadable, but had a hint of apprehension.

"… Is something wrong?" Chase asked. That stirred Drezz from his thoughts, and he gaze at Chase absently.

"… No," he said lowly,"… We should go to the left."

"Why?" Chase asked, raising a brow. Up to this point he wasn't questioning where they were going, but it had been well over a half hour since he left Jinja, and was getting a bit nervous.

"There's a monsuno ahead," he simply stated. Before Chase could respond, he heard another voice speak to him in a hushed tone.

"_Go forward, Chase."_

He quickly looked around, thinking that it was someone behind him. When it spoke again, he realized whose voice it was.

"_Hurry!"_

His legs moved on their own, making him dart forward without another glance.

"W-wait! Chase get back here!" Drezz called, not moving from his spot. The black haired teen didn't bother to respond, and kept running down the twists and turns until he came to an intersection. He couldn't help but curse under his breath.

"… Mom?…" he asked, waiting for a sign. The hall lights started to flicker back on, and he looked around. Instantly, he saw a door ahead of him. Edging closer, he saw that it was bolted shut, and couldn't help but wonder if that was where the monsuno was. Before he could get near, there was a 'click' behind him.

"Don't move." A voice commanded. Slowly, Chase turned a bit to see a soldier standing behind him, gun aimed at his back.

"H-hey there," Chase stuttered out, raising his arms a bit. The soldier gave a scoff under their breath.

"Let's go," they said, not lowering the gun. Chase didn't hesitate, but glanced back at the door. There was something in there, maybe even the monsuno that he and Drezz were looking for. Speaking of whom, where _was_ Drezz? He was right behind him...

'Did I lose him down another hall?' he thought.

"Now hold still," the soldier said, and Chase could hear the clanking of metal (most likely more handcuffs). Before the soldier could get near, there was an explosion behind them that filled the hall with smoke. He coughed a bit, trying to look through it. There were a few grunts and shouts. When it did clear, the Punk Monks were all coming out of the remains of the metal door. The soldier looked at them in surprise, and raised the gun again.

"Freeze! All of you!" he exclaimed. One of the Punk Monks, Ratchet, saw him and let out a snort.

"Here! Catch!" the guy - Tinker - exclaimed as he threw a small metal ball at the soldier. It burst into a shower of sparks, and the soldier let out a strangled sound before falling to the ground unconscious. Chase stood still, a few feet from them. The last Punk Monk - Throttle - finally noticed him.

"Hey, Drezz. Suno's here," she said, shouting through the hole in the wall that they blasted through. Drezz stepped out, although he was now wearing his regular attire. He gave a surprised look when he saw Chase.

"Huh. That's twice that we meet this week," he said, stepping out and shaking his head. He looked up and down the halls, walking past Chase as he did so. Finally he turned to the others, "So which way?"

Tinker walked up to the intersection as well, holding out a device as he turned to every hall.

"... This way," Tinker said, pointing to the right. Drezz nodded, and signaled the rest to follow.

"W-wait!" Chase shouted, and Drezz stopped with a slightly annoyed look.

"What?"

Chase raised a brow, then frowned "Isn't the monsuno in there? You said it yourself that it was ahead. And when did you meet up with the rest of them?"

"What do you mean 'like I said'?" Drezz asked, "I haven't seen you around since yesterday in the desert."

Chase's eyes widened, and he pursed his lips a bit, "But you were just here. You were looking for the monsuno in the base- you got caught by Trey earlier."

Drezz raised a brow, then his expression lightened, "oh. That."

"What do you mean 'that'? What's going on?"

Drezz said, chuckling lightly, "You've been had, Suno. Charlemange sent out info on purpose in order to lure you and your little group. Dr. Tallis thought it was legit, and sent it out without another thought."

The man shifted a bit before continuing, "We've already swept through the entire base. Nothing. Nada. And,_ I_ suggest you get going since this place is going up in flames in a few minutes."

"Wait. Did you set off another wild core bomb here?" Chase asked. Drezz shrugged.

"Dr. Tallis doesn't like being tricked. He would rather have the whole place razed to the ground."

Chase looked down. The Punk Monks were probably the ones that caused the lights to go out.

"I'd say you have ten of fifteen more minutes before the bomb goes off," Drezz said, then looked to the rest of his crew. They nodded, and took off down the hall.

"Wait! Where're you going?" Chase asked.

"To the aircraft hanger of course," Drezz said over his shoulder, running after the rest of them. Chase took one last look around before running after them. Hopefully he could meet Jinja on the way. Otherwise, he would have to run around the base till the last second.

"By the way Suno," Chase looked up next to Drezz as they ran, "What did you mean earlier?"

Chase bit his lip, "Well. You got caught by S.T.O.R.M. We've been running around the base for the past hour or so."

Drezz stopped, and gave him a very confused look.

"That desert must've gotten to you Suno," he said, scratching the back of his neck, "I actually just got here with the rest of my crew a little under an hour ago."

Chase's eyes widened, and he backed up a bit, "n-no. You were here. We talked about the Hand of Destiny and the rogue monsuno that have been running around."

Drezz made a face, then snapped his fingers in realization.

"Oh," he said, "So you saw_ it_."

"'It'? What do you mean 'it'?" Chase asked. He could feel a sensation prickling in the back of his mind, but he ignored it as he looked back and forth between the group.

"Tell me Suno. When was the last time you saw me?" Drezz asked, "an hour? Two? Where was I last?"

Chase's shoulders sagged in disbelief, but didn't respond.

"Well. Sorry to say but that wasn't me," Drezz said, starting to turn back to the hall, "And whatever_ it_ is, will have to deal with the real Drezz soon enough" he turned back to his group ," Let's go."

The Punk Monks nodded, and took off down the hall. Drezz cast one last glance at Chase before charging after them. Chase stood silently, looking a head at the last spot he saw them.

...Was he loosing it? He was sure that Drezz was here. Even Jinja saw. And if that wasn't him, who was it? Unless it was some sort of shapeshifter-

He sucked in a breath. Shapeshifter...

"… The Hand of Destiny!" he exclaimed, then took off after the Punk Monks. No wonder that other Drezz knew a lot about the Hand of Destiny and the monsuno. He-_ it_ was probably working for them. And that was probably why it didn't want Chase running off on his own in case he ran into the real Drezz.

And now that thing was running around the base as well.

* * *

A/N: Hurray, Jack's in the story now. (He's probably one of my more favorite characters to be honest).

Also we'll finally see who those people are in the next chapter.

Review Review Review!


	29. Chapter 29

A/N: Thanks to ChasexJinja for the review (didn't realize reviews aren't possible since technically the chapters have already been published). I'll hurry up with the next chapter since I am curious about what everyone thinks so far.

Enjoy!

* * *

The small group walked in silence, trailing a few steps behind the white-haired teen that was wandering through the halls. The air was tense, and none of them dared to speak out.

Early, as soon as Beyal noticed that none of the guards were conscious, he simply walked out of the room without another word. Not wanting to get separated, Jinja and Bren followed along (to the dismay of the Desert Wolves, who were also a few steps behind as well). Bren thought about asking questions to the monk, but noticed there was a change in his presence, much like before in the desert and the cave when they met Dom Pyro. It was surprising to see Beyal taking out most of the S.T.O.R.M. soldiers, especially since he was the soft-spoken one of the group, but that was the least of their worries at the moment.

"Where's he going?" Jinja whispered to Bren. The hall lights would occasionally flicker on and off for a few seconds, making the group jump every so often.

"How am I supposed to know? Maybe to find the monsuno here?" Bren hissed, glancing down at the core tablet. He had managed to get the location of where the picture was taken before the soldiers destroyed the computers, but now they had to find Chase, the monsuno in the base, and possibly help Dax with Charlemange.

Beyal abruptly stopped, as did the rest of them. The group watched as he looked back and forth between two halls, before turning to look at them. When the lights continued to flicker off, his eyes glistened the strange green hue as he stared back at them. He slowly looked at each of them (and Bren felt a chill at the cold stare), until he finally locked eyes with Jinja.

"_You with monsuno sight,"_ he said, his voice seeming to echo. They all stepped back a bit, "_Where is Chase Suno?"_

The group was silent, in both confusion and awe all at once. Both Bren and Jinja exchanged looks, not knowing what to do. Beyal had his eyes fixed in a cold gaze at Jinja, unfazed.

"Umm..." Jinja gaped, and cleared her throat, "He's... Somewhere in the base…?"

Beyal's expression softened a bit, then he closed his eyes. The air seemed to hum with energy, and after a moment, he turned to leave. No one made the move to stop him, though they all still hesitated to follow.

"W-wait," Jinja finally said. He stopped, turning back to her a little, "... Who are you? You're not Beyal."

There was an odd expression on Beyal's face, then he looked around at the rest of them. His eyes finally locked onto Bekka, who shifted uncomfortably from his gaze.

"_She was right when she said that the Hand was looking for an ancient monsuno,"_ he said, then looked back at Jinja, "_You have to stop them before it's too late."_

"Hold on," Jinja said, "Who are you and what have you done to Beyal?"

The teen gave her a thoughtful look before closing his eyes.

_"You know of the prophecy of the five tribes, yes?"_ he asked. Bren and Jinja exchanged looks again. The prophecy of the five tribes stated that five controllers of monsuno would save the world from destruction. They had all assumed it was their group, especially from the way Master Ey spoke about it.

"… What about it?" Bren asked.

_"You do know the purpose of them?"_ Beyal asked, only to receive blank stares.

"To save the world…?" Bren asked hesitantly. Beyal gave Bren a slightly annoyed look, and let out a sigh.

_"I suppose I'll start from the beginning to make it easier,_" He started_, "Long ago, monsuno energy came from a meteor, pouring out from the world in abundance. However, it was also extremely unstable. That is where the Five Tribes came into place. For you see, the Five Tribes created seals across the world in order to keep the energy at bay. Otherwise, the five would be called back to save the world from destruction."_

_"… But,"_ Beyal continued, "In_ order to create the seals, the Five Tribes created the purest monsuno in order to combat the pure energy. From there on, we vowed to watch over said seals."_

_"_We?"

"_...Yes,"_ Beyal said, his green eyes now going to the ground, "_the Original monsuno of the Five Tribes. And that's what the Hand of Destiny is after. Not only releasing the large amounts of monsuno essence, but also to capture the original monsuno."_

Bren crossed his arms. He bought that there was untapped monsuno energy that the Hand was probably after (especially considering how they stumbled upon the well of monsuno essence in the mountains and the plant monster in the jungle). But why now? And what did that have to do with the rogue monsuno? They were certainly powerful, and had no controllers...

"So… Is that what you are?" Jinja asked hesitantly. Bren's eyes widened at the comment, and Beyal only stared blankly for a moment before nodding slowly.

"Yesterday_, when the hand attempted to release one of the seals"_ he said, "I was released as well._"_

Both Bren and Jinja were silent for a moment. Judging from the levels of monsuno essence, it certainly added up. He did remember the burst of energy, then how it got extremely bright. And then...

"So... That beam of light that hit Beyal," Jinja started, "That was you."

"_Unfortunately," _Beyal said, closing his eyes, "_I wanted to possess Chase Suno. While the monk is more in tune with monsuno essence, Chase has power that is raw and untouched. Something that even he doesn't know. At the time, however-" _Beyal opened his eyes, narrowing them a bit in disgust, "_those people... They did something to him-"_

Alarms suddenly went off, and red lights started to flash throughout the hall. A voice intercom also went off in a deafening call.

"ATTENTION! EVACUATE THE BASE! THIS IS NOT A DRILL! ATTENTION-"

"Jinja, I think we ought to get out of here," Bren said, his eyes a bit weary when he looked to Beyal. He wasn't entirely buying the idea of Beyal being… _possessed_ by a monsuno, and there was also what this had to do with Chase, the Hand, and the monsuno that have been running around. Jinja shot him a look, then turned back to Beyal.

"So what's wrong with Chase? And how do we stop the Hand?"

"_Luckily, the Hand has only captured three of the monsuno,"_ he replied, "_Besides me, the last had been awakened because of the release of energy. I suspect it will be heading for the seal on its own after seeking out more users of monsuno sight. If you can all get to the Cave of Coalescence on the map, there is a way to recreate the seals so that the energy can become balanced again. Otherwise, the world will be thrown into chaos."_

"uh... Cave?" Bren asked. Beyal tilted his head before going to Bren. The teen took a few steps as Beyal took the Core Tablet from his hands. He pushed a button before holding it out again.

_"The stone with the markings. That is where it is_. You must leave here as soon as possible, before the Hand finds out where it's at._"_

Bren looked down at the tablet, his hands gripping it a bit tighter. They had come to the base to find Jinja and Chase, but there was also the monsuno that was in the base...

"So… Is there a monsuno in the base?" Bren asked. He wasn't actually sure if Beyal would know, but it didn't hurt to ask. Beyal's eyes seemed to soften when he saw Bren's expression.

"_I'm afraid the monsuno you are looking for has long passed,"_ he said, more directly to Bren then anyone else. For a moment, Bren was going to ask what he meant, but then remembered the description of the monsuno that Dr. Tallis sent. His eyes widened a bit, and his gaze dropped when he realized what Beyal was implying.

"I… I know that," Bren said in a hushed tone, "But… Is there one here?"

Beyal shook his head, and didn't say anything else.

"Wait. There _isn't _a monsuno here?" Jinja asked, "Does that mean Dr. Tallis tricked us?"

"Actually," the teens' attention went to Bekka, who suddenly decided to join in the conversation, "If it helps, Master Ey did speak of something important to be found here at the base. Though I'm sure it had to do with the location of the uh… Cave."

Beyal suddenly had a violent coughing fit, and dropped to his knees. Jinja dropped down to his side, while the others seemed to be in a stunned silence.

"What's wrong?" she asked. He looked up with half-lidded eyes, smudges of red on the corners of his mouth.

"_I can't possess the monk for much longer," _he said, "_You have to hurry to the Cave. Once you all stop the Hand, I can be freed and recreate the remaining seals."_

Before anyone could interject, Beyal's rolled back and he fell backwards. Jinja managed to catch him before he hit the floor, and exchanged a worrying look to Bren.

HLP

He stood there, watching the different groups of people running up and down the halls. S.T.O.R.M. soldiers were all fleeing as soon as the alarm went off. He couldn't help but scoff at that.

"Well... Since the monsuno wasn't really here, might as well take off as well," he said. But stopped when something caught his eye. The four from before that follow Dr. Tallis were there, skulking about in the halls.

"I guess that explains the wild core bomb and why the alarms went off," he said, then laughed to himself, "It's a good thing me and Chase didn't meet up with them. Would've been confusing to see _two _Punk Monk leaders running around."

He looked up at one of the blank screens, looking at his current appearance as the leader of the Punk Monks, and smirked. He could've easily posed as a guard, but that would've made it much harder to gain Suno's trust. Even if they fail, there was always the option of capturing the teen and bringing him to the Hand instead. And what better way then to be someone he already knew.

"Might as well meet up with the other three," he sighed. Since he was the only one who gained a different appearance from the encounter with the Punk Monks, it was only fair that he was the one to go into the base. He just hoped that the other three managed to locate the last seal. Then they would only need to regain the monsuno they had lost yesterday...

He paused when he saw the rest of Chase's group wandering in one of the halls. His eyes narrowed further when he noticed that they were all taking to a white-haired boy. Except his eyes were glowing a green color. A few seconds later, the boy fell to his knees and collapsed.

A grin twisted on his lips. Found it.

"Well well. I guess this trip wasn't entirely fruitless," he said darkly, and turned to go find them. His own eyes also shining green.

HLP

"Bren," Jinja said, arms encircled around Beyal, "Go meet up with Dax and get out of here."

"… What?"

"I know which way Chase went," she said, "take Beyal, find Dax, and meet us back out in the desert."

Bren stood dumbly before letting out an outburst, "Wait. So we're _going_ to listen to it?! I don't think you've realized it, but we're smack dab in the middle of S.T.O.R.M. headquarters. It's not like we'll just be able to walk right out the door. Plus Dax is fighting Charlemange right now!"

Jinja bit her lip. She hadn't forgotten that they left Dax to fight alone, and who knows if he was even fairing well against the Commandant.

"Look Bren," Jinja said, "Chase has been acting really weird lately. You may not have seen it, but_ I _have. And one thing's for sure, it involves the damned Hand of Destiny!"

She couldn't help but shout the last part, making Bren flinch a bit. Chase really was acting out, even to the point of locking her in another part of the base without her monsuno. She let out a sigh, knowing that she shouldn't have taken it out on Bren (even if he did deserve to be yelled at sometimes). Bekka was suddenly at Jinja's side, giving a reassuring smile.

"We'll look after these two," she said, leaning Beyal against her so that Jinja could stand, "Don't worry. It's why Master Ey sent us after all."

Jinja looked down at the mute woman, and couldn't help but trust her. She didn't put it against Master Ey to send them help, and Bekka was Beyal's sister, so the chances of the Desert Wolves pulling a fast one was very unlikely.

"Alright," Jinja said, and Bekka nodded. Jinja looked back to Bren, "If it comes down to it, just get out of here as soon as possible."

Before he could interject again, she took off down one of the halls. She bolted down every turn and twist, if only to try and get enough distance between her and the group. She knew Bren wouldn't believe her about Chase and how he's been acting up, and traveling in a group would only slow things down.

She stopped after running for a few minutes, realizing the halls became somewhat familiar. It took her a minute to realize why, and inwardly groaned.

"I'm heading back to the holding cells," she sighed. The door had probably unlocked since she left, but there was no chance of Chase walking through-

She ran straight into someone, and immediately leapt backwards. She tensed a bit, then relaxed somewhat when she saw who it was.

"Drezz? Where's Chase," she said. He looked at her passively, as if examining her. He was still wearing the S.T.O.R.M. unform, most likely to get around the base more easily, "…well?"

"Chase is… in the base," he said, eyes not leaving her. She started to shift uncomfortably under his gaze, and when she looked up at his eyes, she glared, "Where is the rest of your group?"

Jinja frowned at him, and didn't answer. How did Drezz know that they were in the base? Or was he just guessing?

"How about you just tell me where Chase is at," she said. He started to chuckle darkly, mouth twisting into a smirk. His eyes seemed to gleam a bit in the red light that still shone in the halls.

"I'll tell you," he said darkly. Before she could say anything, he grabbed her throat and slammed her against the wall. She gasped, and started to grip at his hand. He forced her to look forward, eyes now _glowing_ menacingly, "As soon as we go and see your little friends!"

"D-Dr-Drezz…!" She croaked. He slid her up the wall till her legs were left dangling in the air a bit. She felt lightheaded, and tried desperately to fight off the urge to faint. She tried looking away from his eyes, but the glow was almost hypnotic. Her vision got dark, and she didn't even realize that Drezz's face had started to contort. Features getting small and slimmer. Lips getting a bit fuller, hair growing out and changing color.

"_Not anymore,_" he said, voice starting to get higher in pitch.

The last thing she heard before everything went dark was the hall filling up with a shrill laughter.

Her _own_ laughter.

* * *

A/N: This chapter was pretty plot heavy, next chapter more action.

Review in the next chapter!


	30. Chapter 30

A/N: Thanks to Myra the Sark, ChasexJinjaForever, mysticblade7, and the guest for the reviews. There's actually not too much action going on, but whatever. Build up for the next chapter.

Enjoy!

* * *

Chase silently cursed to himself as he ran down the halls along with the Punk Monks. They didn't pay attention to him, more concentrated with finding a way out (which was fine with him). He was so caught up in his own thoughts and feelings about the Hand of Destiny that he failed to question things. Even more so, he left Jinja somewhere in the base without her monsuno. Not to mention leaving the rest of his friends in the desert with the rogue monsuno raging about. It anything, he only put them all into more danger.

"… Dammit…!" he said under his breath. He just hoped that the others could fight off the monsuno and that Jinja wouldn't catch up with the not-Drezz in the base. Who knows what _he_ was really after.

Chase slowed down a bit. Why was the imposter here? If it was for the monsuno, then he were tricked along with the rest of them. Then why go through the whole act of being Drezz? Especially if they could shape shift like the Hand's monsuno...

"_… Chase."_

He held a breath. It was _her_ again.

Turning to one of the other halls, he was quick enough to see the flutter of a white dress go by, and took off down the hall without thinking. The Punk Monks said something, but didn't bother following him. They were trying to leave after all. The wild core bomb was going to go off soon, which could only mean there wasn't much time left.

"Mom?" he asked, then stopped as soon as he said that. What if it wasn't really her? What if this was a trap?

"… Is that really you?" he asked again more quietly. He waited a moment before he got a response.

"_Chase," _he voice echoed throughout the hall, "_you have to leave. You have to get out."_

_"_Why? What's going on?" he asked, not knowing where to look or to go.

"_You must find the others,"_ she said, "_You must go to the North."_

He stood, listening to her words, knowing that he was just being led along, just like the rest of the time. Whether it was by her or the Hand or S.T.O.R.M. or whoever.

And that set him off.

He was done with this cryptic nonsense and being dangled about.

"Why are you leading me all over the place!" he shouted throughout the hall, "You tell me to go North, and then to find the monsuno, and now you're just leading me into circles! What do you want?!"

Her voice continued to echo throughout the hall, creating a barrage of noise that seemed to come down on him. He banged his fists against the metal wall in frustration, and slid down to his knees. The light in the hall flickered off, the flood lights being the only source now. He sat against the wall, ignoring how cold the metal was.

"Why can't you just_ tell me_," he said pitifully, his head hanging down. It always felt like this. Even when it was with tracking his father almost a year ago, the answers were right in front of him, but just out of reach.

Why did it have to be this way? Why was it _his_ parent's that had to be involved with monsuno? Nothing good ever seemed to come out of it, not with S.T.O.R.M., Klipse, and Dr. Tallis all using monsuno for their own reasons. Was that all it was? Destruction…?

He let out a defeated sigh, and held his knees to his chest, her voice now turning into nothing more then a murmur. How much of his life would have been different if his father hadn't discovered monsuno? Would he be at home with his parents? Worrying about things that average people worry about. He closed his eyes, hardly caring if a soldier should happen to stumble upon him.

He felt something, and took Locke's core into his hand. There was a warm, comforting feeling inside. Even the blue light seemed to have a certain warmth when he looked down at it. He let his fingers graze against the metal fastenings, before holding it a bit closer with both hands.

"I guess there's one good thing that came out of it," he said, smiling a bit when he felt Locke stir in the core, "At least I got you. Right buddy?"

It was only a small comfort, but the fact that his father trusted him with Locke was worth at least something. At least they would never be separated...

There was a thud, and Chase jumped a bit. Slowly, he got back up to his feet, cautiously looking up and down the halls. Now that he thought about it, where was the rest of S.T.O.R.M.? Did they all split as soon as the alarm went off? He leaned over to look into another hall from where the sound came from. He could hear someone saying something quietly, and then giggling. Before he knew it, footsteps started to lead away.

He wasn't sure what it was, but something told him to stay away from that direction. He should go back and follow the Punk Monks out of the base.

He felt something stir, and noticed that Jinja's monsuno were getting antsy. He clipped Locke back onto his belt and took Charger into his hand, waiting for some sort of response.

"… Is there something wrong?" he asked. The monsuno only continued to buzz around in its core. Chase gave a sigh, then perked up in realization. Sitting back down with his legs crossed, he held Charger's core in his palm. He still wasn't sure how this whole monsuno sight thing worked, but surely there was a way to use Jinja and her monsuno's connection to track her down.

He waited for some sort of sign, before feeling a jerk towards the hall the voice came from. It caught him off guard, and made him fall.

"That was… weird," he said to himself, then shook his head. He put Charger's core back onto Jinja's belt, and started to slowly go through the halls.

HLP

The aircraft hanger was now blazing with beams of yellow, blue, and red. Monsuno raging throughout. Charlemange still had both her monsuno out, while Dax ended up having to call back Boost. Even with Jack's help, they were getting cornered.

"I'm surprised neither of you are putting up a good fight!" Charlemange remarked coldly, then letting out a laugh as Driftblade threw Freedomstriker across the room and into some of the fighter jets.

"Commandant Marshall Charlemange!" She turned to see a soldier approaching her, before holding a hand up in salute.

"What iz it?" she asked, turning back to the battle. Blackbullet launched a blast at Airswitch, who dodged at the last second.

"I'm afraid we have to evacuate ma'am," the soldier said, "there has been a breach, and a wild core bomb has been detected in the lower sector of the base.

Charlemange thought for a moment. Wild core bombs were a signature of that fool Dr. Tallis. She gave a scoff, he was probably bitter about the fake information on the monsuno she gave him. Seeing that it wasn't the first time she messed with his things, she wasn't surprised that he was taking an extremist route this time around.

"How many of our troops have been evacuated?"

"All of the east and north wing. The west wing is nearly evacuated," The soldier responded, trying not to take heed to the battle ensuing in front of them. Charlemange put her thumb to her lip in thought. There was a good chance that Suno's crew had all caught wind of the bomb, or they would just go up in flames.

"Did you recover the files that we got from the ruins up North?" she asked. The soldier shifted a bit, then shook his head. Charlemange grit her teeth.

"Then I suggest you either get back in zer and get it, or get out of my way!" she exclaimed, and turned her attention back to the battle, "Blackbullet, Sonic Rain!"

There was a flash of yellow, and then Driftblade was taking down the red monsuno. The bomb was still going to go off, but that didn't mean she couldn't hinder her opponents at the moment. The soldier slipped away back into the base, and Charlemange's lips started to curl into a smile.

"Charlemange!" Dax shouted, "You better not have done anything to the rest of my team!"

The woman looked him with narrowed eyes, smile still plastered on her face.

"Like I said before, you'll be reunited soon enough! Driftblade! Take out the floor!" she ordered. The monsuno let out a shriek before forcing the red and blue one towards their controllers. Before they could react, her two monsuno blasted the metal floor, knowing that they would fall to one of the lower floors. There were shouts from the monsuno and the two nuisances, followed by a crash.

"Well, gentlemen, this was fun," she said, looking down into the hole and saw the flashes of blue and red as the monsuno returned to their cores. The street rat and the one-eyed man were sprawled out on the ground, struggling to get to their feet after the fall, "but I have a ship to catch.

With a sweep of her jacket, she strode over to the hole in the wall back into the desert.

HLP

It didn't take long for Bren and the Desert Wolves to get even more lost in the halls. The lights kept going on and off, disorientating them all. Bren finally made the decision to try and find an emergency door by following the red flood lights on the ground. He noticed them as they were walking along, and how some of the lights were normal, which could only mean this was a way to show an exit (either that or just further into the base, but since they had no lead, this was the route they took).

Sure enough, they were lead to a stairwell, which could only mean the best option would to be to go up and out. They only trailed up a few floors before they came to the top, and slid inside the door to the next hall. Windows were lined along the ceiling every few feet. Bren went to the closer, noting how he wouldn't be able to reach, and turned to the others.

"You think you could reach up there?" Bren asked Pozzo, a bit hesitantly. The man was currently carrying Beyal along, who was still knocked out. He nodded, and set the monk down before hefting the mallet from his back.

"Shield your eyes," he said, then thrusted the weapon upward, shattering the glass everywhere. There was a flurry of wind that came in, and when Bren looked up, he saw that the storm clouds were now darkened overhead.

Before he knew it, Bren was suddenly lifted up by his waist out of the hall and onto the roof. He let out a squeak when he fell forward on the metal, and glanced around quickly, a bit embarrassed. Surprisingly, the roof was nothing but a flat metal surface that curved at the edges (they would have to be careful when going towards them). He could see a few S.T.O.R.M. ships taking off from the base. Why were they evacuating anyway? Did Dax defeat Charlemange or something? Or maybe it was Chase or Jinja?

Turning around, he saw Bekka looking around as well, taking heed to the storm that was overhead. When Bren glanced around, he noticed that it was starting to sprinkle a bit. No doubt the rain would start pouring soon.

"Could you lend a hand?"

He turned around to see the mute woman holding onto Beyal's arms as she and Pozzo tried hauling him up. Bren let out a 'ah' before going over and helping. Beyal let out a groan, but otherwise didn't move. The two of them, dragged him a few feet from the window before settling down. It was then that Bren noticed Beyal's cheeks getting flushed again. His fever was probably back.

"I kind of hope that monsuno or whatever isn't lying," Bren said. It was bad enough with Beyal passing out every few hours. And from the look of things, it was going to get worse.

Bren couldn't help but get a bit worried. Not just with Beyal either. Chase was still somewhere running around on his own, Jinja was probably just as lost, and there was no way of telling whether Dax was actually able to beat Charlemange. What's more, he had no clue of whether they should stay or leave the base as well. Especially with the Desert Wolves with them (though that may be a good thing considering what condition Beyal was in).

He looked down at the Core Tablet, seeing that there was a drastic change with the air pressure and humidity. It wouldn't be ideal traveling weather, but they don't have much of a choice. Considering that the S.T.O.R.M. soldiers were all leaving, they should be heading out as well. Pozzo joined them, taking heed to the worried look that Bekka was giving. The wind suddenly started to pick up, and thunder started to roll overhead.

"We should get out of here before the storm really starts to pick up," she said still clinging onto Beyal. Bren nodded, stood, and then took out Neo-Quickforce's core. Before he threw it, he hesitated.

"Can we… Just wait a few more minutes?" he said. They should just be taking off. But he wasn't about to leave Chase, Jinja, or even Dax behind in the base. Before the Desert Wolves could protest, there was a rumbling from below that shoot the whole roof. Bren let out a shout when he could barely keep steady, and ended up falling. After a few seconds, it stopped.

"Wh-what was that?" he said out loud. He didn't get an answer. A familiar voice came from the hole in the roof they just came from.

"Everyone!"

The group turned to the hole, and after a moment, Jinja popped out.

"Jinja, what are you doing here?" Bren asked as she hopped up, "And what are you wearing?"

For some reason, she was wearing one of the S.T.O.R.M. uniforms instead of her usual clothes (unless her clothes were under the armor…? But Bren didn't want to think too much about that.)

"That's not important right now," she dismissed, "We have to get out of here! The place is going to blow!"

"Wait. What?!" Bren squeaked.

"The Punk Monks showed up. They planted a bomb somewhere in the base and are planning on taking the whole thing out."

"That would explain why all the soldiers are taking off," Bekka said, looking off towards the ships that were leaving, "And that rumbling."

"C'mon," Jinja said, grabbing Bren's wrist and hauling him up, "we have to get our monsuno out and go up North."

"Wait! Where's Chase? And Dax? I though you went back in to find them. And how did you even find us so fast?" Bren said. Strangely, Jinja didn't respond, nor did she look at him. It was only when they heard a groan did the two turned around. Beyal was suddenly awake, though it looked like he would faint again at any second. He tried sitting up, but seemed very dazed and confused.

"Beyal? How are you feeling?" Bekka asked worryingly. The monk didn't give a response, and looked around. His eyes finally settled on Bren and Jinja.

"Bren?… Jinja?" He said, voice faint. He eyes lingered on Jinja a bit longer for some reason, "… But… You're not- AH!"

Beyal clinched his head in pain, curling up on the ground as Bekka sat beside him.

"What is it?" she asked. Her eyes were filled with worry and panic. But before anyone could help, Bren felt something prick at his neck.

"Not so fast!" He turned to see Jinja, who took a hold of one of his arms and held it painfully behind his back. Her other hand held the knife that was precariously close to his neck.

* * *

A/N: Review Review Review!


	31. Chapter 31

A/N: Thanks to ChasexJinjaForever and the guest for the reviews. This chapter is a bit of a filler (though it's not completely useless). Also sorry this took so long, this was one of the few chapter that I found myself having to write on the spot.

Enjoy!

* * *

It was getting very treacherous in the desert as the Strike Squad continued to go further in. The weather had taken a drastic turn, now threatening to pour down at them as the thunder roared and the wind howled. Regardless of that, the monsuno that was leading them did not hesitate and continued forward. Alpha was curious about where it was leading them, especially since it posed no threat to them, even after they had walked for so long.

"Hey, Alpha." He turned around to see Bravo giving him a look.

"… Yes?" He asked. Bravo frowned a bit at his lackluster response.

"Where are we going? You don't think it's leading us back to the base, do you?" the blonde asked. Him and Kilo were both on the apprehensive side while following the monsuno. On the other hand, Alpha, Tango, and X-Ray were more curious about what it was doing.

"Who knows," Alpha simply said, then continued to look forward as they walked. He didn't really care too much about where they were currently heading, considering what happened this whole day. Chances were, him and his squad were going to go back to home base only to get reassigned to lesser missions or areas for at least a few months before they get back into Charlemange's good graces (but even that was not necessarily a good thing!)

While they had been walking for so long, Alpha started to notice more and more things about the monsuno that was leading them. It was larger then regular monsuno, who were big to begin with, and had no marks or colors that signified that it had been made from Core Tech or S.T.O.R.M.. And then there was something alluring about the monsuno. The way it looked, the air it carried, or maybe it was it's strange white glow that seemed to emit from it, even in the darkened area they were in.

Alpha couldn't help but take note that there was also a certain nobility about it when it walked without looking at them. As if it knew that they would follow along without a second thought. At least for him, Tango, and X-Ray. Kilo and Bravo grumbled the whole time, while the other two remained silent most of the way, eyes fixated on the beast in front of them.

The monsuno stopped, suddenly letting out a low growl. The Strike Squad also stood still, not sure if it was alerting them to danger or if it just saw someone else, possibly more S.T.O.R.M. soldiers.

"What's it doing?" X-Ray whispered, as if afraid it would turn on them.

"It might be planning an attack," Kilo said, reaching for a core with similar thoughts. Alpha walked to the side a bit to see what was in front of them, then held a hand out at his crew.

"Wait!" he said, "There's something else here."

The rest of his crew also looked ahead to see something coming towards them in the distance. It was a bit hard to see with how much the area had been darkened by the storm. But nevertheless, there was something fast heading straight towards them.

"Do you think it's S.T.O.R.M.?" Tango asked. Before anyone could respond, the wolf-like monsuno let out a howl. The sand started to shift, and the wind suddenly died down. Alpha looked around, and could feel the air getting warmer for some reason. Before he could say anything, the monsuno charged forward.

"W-wait! Where's it going?" X-Ray exclaimed. When they looked, the faraway object became clearer. It looked like an owl, but from this distance, it was definitely larger then normal, and would be on top of them within a few minutes, maybe even seconds. The wolf monsuno growled, then opened its jaws. From it's mouth erupted a beam of light (the same beam of light that struck the ship, Alpha thought), and it aimed straight at the other monsuno.

As soon as it launched its attack, however, something else charged right into it, making the beam shoot off in another direction as the monsuno was tackled to the ground. Flashes of white within a cloud of sand soon formed in front of them as they stood surprised at the new monsuno that had appeared.

"What was that?!" Alpha heard, but couldn't tell who as a new battle ensued in front of them. Once some of the dust cleared, he saw that the monsuno that had attacked the wolf one looked like a mountain lion with crystals sticking out of its back. The wolf monsuno kicked it off, and the other beast snarled back. For a brief second, Alpha thought about assisting it, but then saw that the other monsuno in the distance was getting way too close too quickly.

The wolf monsuno glanced back to the one flying, and opened its mouth for another attack. The Strike Squad could only watch as within a few seconds, the monsuno was thrown to the ground once more, and the owl monsuno flew dangerously overhead.

"Everyone! Duck!" Alpha shouted as they all dropped to the ground. Instead of heading straight for them, however, the monsuno narrowly flew past them and continued on, leaving them all confused.

"Wait. It's not attacking?" Bravo asked.

"Where's it going?" Tango asked, all of them still lying on the ground as they watched it disappear. Suddenly, X-Ray let out a gasp of realization.

"It's heading for the base!" he said. The Strike Squad immediately went into a panic and jumped to their feet.

"Should we warn them?"

"We should go after it!"

"What about the monsuno here?"

Alpha ignored them, looking back to the other two monsuno that were still wrestling about. He felt flecks of water start to hit his face, which meant it would start pouring any minute now. But he stood still, his eyes captivated by the fight as he gazed at the wolf monsuno.

The beast looked at him, despite being pinned down by the other snarling monsuno. For a brief second, something flashed within it's eyes that suddenly made things seem clearer. As if to tell him to go after the flying monsuno. It struggled under the other even more, as if to urge Alpha's actions.

"… Alpha?"

He turned around to see his teammates giving him a panicked look. The fight started up again between the other monsuno and the moment passed. Alpha shook his head a bit.

"We have to go after the other monsuno" he said, then took hold of Tripwire's core. Before he could launch or for his teammates to say anything, a blast narrowly avoided them. He turned around to see the lion monsuno charging at him. Letting out a gasp, Alpha threw up his arms in some sort of defense, shutting his eyes as it pounced. The monsuno barely missed as the wolf monsuno jumped onto it's back. Alpha was knocked back as the monsuno's claws stopped a few inches away from him. The wolf-monsuno let out a growl as it dragged the other back.

"Alpha! Let's get out of here!" X-Ray exclaimed, taking his arm and hoisting him up. The red-haired teen looked to his squad in relief as they turned to run away from the battle. He took two steps before hesitating. The monsuno was leading them for some reason, and it definitely did _not_ want these monsuno going wherever they were… It was something in the way it stared at him...

"Hurry up let's go!" Bravo shouted, and took hold of Alpha's other arm.

"…" he didn't respond. And when he did, he looked to his squad with determined eyes.

"We have to help it," he said. The Strike Squad gave him blank stares before Kilo broke the slight silence.

"Are you nuts? We should be heading back to the base!" he exclaimed. Alpha shook his head, and pulled his arms loose of his teammates' grasps.

"You saw how fast it was going, I doubt we'll be able to catch up with it," he said, turning his back on them and facing the battle, "Besides, Charlemange is back at the base. I'm sure she could handle it."

He felt someone stand at his side, and turned to see Tango also looking at the battle, her monsuno's core in her hand. She held it up with a sly grin. Nodding, Alpha took a hold of Tripwire's core again.

"Tripwire, launch!"

HLP

Chase was apprehensive as he edged towards the hall that the noise and voice came from. It was hard to tell who it was since they spoke so quietly, and were gone before he could listen for more. If anything, he could potentially try and follow them down the halls. Still, he couldn't help but hesitate, realizing that he could be following _her_ voice, which now seemed more haunting then reassuring. When Chase paused to think about it, her voice had been getting more rigid then the past few times they had spoken.

'Was she always like that?' he thought, then bit his lip before he turned around the corner. He didn't have many memories of his mother to start with, and that just made him even more conflicted. If he ever did see her again in person, would they be able to be a family again along with his father…?

That last thought was lost when he looked around the corner to see the red-haired figure half-slumped against the wall.

"Jinja!" he exclaimed, not caring if any guards were around. He sprinted over, getting to his knees beside her.

"Jinja? Hey, wake up," he said, shaking her shoulder. She didn't respond, and when he leaned forward he let out a gasp. There were red marks on her throat that were starting to bruise, as if someone strangled her. Panic arose, and he laid her on the ground and put an ear to her chest. Slowly, he calmed himself down enough to hear her heartbeat and feel her chest slowly rise and fall. He let out a sigh of relief and sat back up.

'Was this why Charger was antsy earlier?' Chase thought to himself, and couldn't help but feel anxious as his eyes landed on the red marks. There was no way a guard did that and just left her in the hall, and he doubted that she had ran into the Punk Monks. They were much more preoccupied with the wild core bomb-

"Shit!" Chase cursed and got to his feet. How long had it been since he split from Drezz and the rest of them? Five, maybe ten minutes? More then that? There was probably a little under an hour's left of time before the bomb would go off. He got back low and hoisted Jinja into an upright position. She let out a moan, arms slumping over his shoulders as her head was perched next to his. He got up with a huff, gripping onto her legs as she slumped against his back. He didn't have time to wait for her to regain consciousness, and started dashing down the hall.

There was nothing holding them back now. There was no monsuno to find, they recovered their cores from the base, and it seemed that all the soldiers had already evacuated. Now he just had to figure out where that cave to the north was and then he could eventually meet up with the others. He hoped that Jinja wouldn't be out cold for too much longer, though it did disturb him that there was someone in the base that would just strangle someone only to leave them.

He didn't get very far down the hall before he realized that he had no idea which way he was going.

Chase came to a halt at an intersection and clicked his tongue in frustration. He couldn't figure out which hall to go down, whether to turn around, or to go into a door and hope for the best. He needed a sign...

There was a loud explosion ahead, and at first he thought the bomb had gone off. When he realized that the two of them were still alive, he figured it must have been a monsuno battle.

"If monsuno are fighting, that could mean a way out," he said aloud, mostly to himself. He started to go forward again, and then saw that there was a large door that probably led to an aircraft hanger. A way out!

He opened the door by kicking at the panel to the side, watching as it slide open. Sure enough, he found himself in a wide open space where large airships were stored.

But what surprised him the most was the large whole that was now in the floor.

HLP

"I really cannot believe that you would loose him within a few seconds of not paying attention," Dr. Klipse said as he stared at the holographic projector of his butler, who looked frazzled.

"My apologies sir," he said, "I was busy attending to Lady Madea at the time. I do believe it was that mercenary that you hired who wasn't doing his job!"

There was someone shouting something, followed by grumbling in the background.

"I assume he is still with you," Klipse asked, and got a nod in response.

"Good," the man said, "I need the two of you to head out and go after Chase's group. I do believe that they may have an answer that I am looking for."

"Um. Of course," the butler said a bit hesitantly. Klipse raised a brow.

"Is something wrong?"

The butler shook his head quickly, "Of course not sir! It's just that, do you want your clone running around on its own? Maybe we should stay for a bit before leaving without him-"

"That won't be necessary," Klipse dismissed, "I'll be heading there within the next day and find him myself."

Again, there was hesitation from the old man, but nodded anyway. The hologram was dismissed, and Klipse leaned back a bit in his chair. Earlier, he had intercepted a message between Charlemange and Dr. Tallis about some sort of ruins hidden in the desert. It was interesting to say the least, especially considering that all three of them were much more concerned with monsuno energy and science then the old scriptures and myths like the Hand of Destiny are.

However, there were times when rumors are much more useful then siting in front of data readings all day like that fool Jeredy. The last time he had heard about ruins concerning monsuno, it was about Charlemange's failed attempt to gain a spring of monsuno energy. If there was even the slightest chance of gaining that type of power, Klipse wouldn't hesitate to seize it.

Earlier, Hargrave mentioned that they had gone underground somewhere in the Northern part of the desert. Maps did not show any signs of underground tunnels, and only peeked his interest because of the violent shift in monsuno energy within the past day and the coincidence of the information he received.

He stood up from his chair, a smirk on his lips.

"Maybe I can beat Charlemange and Dr. Tallis to these ruins," he said, walking away from his computers and various screens. And seeing that even the Hand was about to join in on the fun by sending their lackeys to go after Chase (he would have to remember to give a larger tip next time he spoke to Madea. The information she gave was much more useful then her actions at times), this could only mean a big discovery for monsuno energy.

Sure he would have to track down his rather obsolete clone, but if it meant gaining a new monsuno then it would be worth the trip.

* * *

A/N: Review Review Review!


	32. Chapter 32

A/N: Thanks to MyratheSark and ChasexJinjaForever for the reviews! This is a long chapter since I was inspired by how fast the reviews came, but couldn't post because of how long it took. It also contains one of the best interactions between Dax and Chase in the story (in my opinion).

Enjoy!

* * *

Pain. As his senses finally started coming back, Dax felt pain shooting up from different areas, the most prominent being in his left leg. Blinking slowly, he realized he was lying on debris of the floor when Charlemange's monsuno took it out, looking up at the hole in the floor (now the ceiling). He lifted himself onto his elbow, letting out a pained gasp when his leg brushed against some of the metal. He glanced around, trying to orientate himself as the lights in the room dimmed and flickered.

"Last thing I remember was Charlemange-"

He let out a short gasp, remembering the battle he and Jack had with the Commandant and how she managed to overpower them both. Glancing up as if she was looking over him, he relaxed a bit when he realized that she was nowhere in sight. He sat up fully, and looked down at his cores he still held. They had a three more minutes before they could be launched again, meaning he was only unconscious for four.

There was another groan, and Dax looked to his left to see Jack rising out of another pile of metal and wires.

"Ow… Charlemange is quite the brute," he said out loud, chuckling to himself. He glanced up, then saw that Dax was also there.

"I'm guessing she decided to just leave us," Dax said, putting his cores on his bandolier. He tried to shift onto his knees, and winced as his left leg tingled at the movement. Jack stood up, looking around at the large hole that was above them. He started to stare intensely at it for some reason, though Dax paid no attention to him.

Slowly, he stood, putting some pressure on his left side to try and balance out. Pain shot up as soon as his full weight was on it, and he collapsed to his knees again.

"… Damn!" he cursed under his breath, hands clenching into fists in pain.

"… Dax!"

He looked up in surprise at the familiar voice. It was a bit hard to see in the darkened room, but recognized the black-haired teen that the sound came from.

"Chase!" he exclaimed. It was then that Dax realized they had gone down two floors as Chase stared down at them from the aircraft hanger, sparks occasionally flying from the wires in the broken structure.

"Are you okay?!" Chase shouted down at him. Dax attempted to stand again, but didn't put as much pressure on his leg as before.

"A little bruised up, but nothing too serious," he said, and looked around. Jack was still fixated on the ceiling, so Dax ignored him.

"Do you think you could send a monsuno down?" Dax asked. Chase nodded, and stood up.

"Locke, launch!"

The core flew down to the bottom, releasing the monsuno in a flash in front of Dax. It let out a huff before turning to him. Dax gave it a half smile, limping as he got onto its back. He turned to Jack.

"Yo old man," he said, "You coming?"

Jack snapped out of whatever daze he was in and turned to Dax with a frown. Nevertheless, he climbed onto Locke as well. Normally Dax wouldn't have bothered to help out anyone other then his friends. But he owed Jack for coming to help him out with Charlemange, even if they ended up getting tossed about like nothing.

Locke climbed up the metal beams that were sticking out of broken floors and ceilings, easily reaching the top within a few seconds. Chase ran over to them, helping Dax slide off the monsuno as he winced every so often.

"I'm guessing you had a run in with Commander Trey," Chase said. Dax shook his head.

"Not Trey. Charlemange," he said, and Chase gave a small 'ah,' and looked at the large hole.

"I guess that explains that," Chase said, then turned back to Dax, "Where are the others? Or are they with you?"

Dax scoffed a bit, remembering how uninterested Chase had been the previous day with the group, but responded anyway, "Yeah, I left them with Jinja and the rest of the Desert Wolves when Charlemange showed up. They went back in the base to look for you and the monsuno."

Chase's face fell a bit for some reason, and he looked to the side, "the monsuno's not here."

"I know, Charlemange told me," Dax said, then also looked off to the side as well, staring down at the hole, "it was a trap to get us here."

"Why?" Chase asked.

"Who knows," Dax shrugged, digging his hands into his pocket, "either way, we have to get out of here. Did you find the others?"

"I found Jinja. But…" Chase trailed off, then turned around. Dax looked past him a let out a gasp when he saw the red-haired girl lying on the ground a few feet away. He ran over, despite feeling jolts of pain running up his leg at every step. He finally collapsed to his knees a foot short, hovering over her.

"Oi. Princess, wake up," he said, a sliver of panic in his voice rising as he saw the bruises on her neck. Chase walked up next to them, but didn't say anything. Dax nudged her shoulder, then turned to Chase when she didn't respond, "What happened?"

"I'm not sure. I heard someone down a hall, then found her knocked out," the black-haired teen said, a twinge of guilt in his voice. Dax only frowned, feeling some anger build up at how he let Jinja and the rest of them wander alone in the base-

"Wait," he said, then quickly glanced around at the deserted hanger, "Where's everyone else?"

Chase raised a brow, "you mean the guards?"

"No. I mean Bren and Beyal. Jinja was looking after them when I challenged Charlemange," Dax said, then got to his feet. Chase's face paled a bit for some reason, and he looked to the hall with a nervous look, "… What is it Chase?"

Chase let out a steady breath, "I ran into the Punk Monks earlier. And they said that there's a wild core bomb in the base."

"What?!" Dax exclaimed. The last time they encountered wild core bombs, a whole city was taken out. He looked back down to Jinja, and let out a curse, guilt starting to rise at the thought of the rest of their team wandering in the base. Chase suddenly made a move, calling Locke back to its core and heading over to one of halls.

"I'm going back in for them."

Before he could go any farther, Dax took a hold of his arm, wincing as he stepped on his bad leg.

"Hold on there Chase. The last thing we need is to split up again. Besides, you're not exactly in the right mind to be going off on your own."

Chase looked back at him, raising a brow, "What do you mean 'the right mind'?"

"Don't tell me you're that thick," Dax said, crossing his arms, "I'm talking about how you've been ignoring everyone."

"That's ridiculous, I haven't been ignoring anyone," Chase said. Dax let out a scoff.

"Yeah right. That's the only reason that Jinja's unconscious on the floor right now," he said, eyes narrowing, "_you_ wanted to go off on your own and left her in the base without her monsuno. Not to mention how you practically abandoned Bren and Beyal back in the desert, and then wanting leave us all to go off on your own adventure."

"I… That's not…" Chase hesitated, eyes dropping to the ground. There was a flash of guilt in Chase's eyes, but Dax pressed on.

"That's the only reason we're in this mess in the first place!" Dax said, narrowing his eyes, "You've really out done yourself this time 'leader'."

"You don't think I'm _trying_?!" Chase yelled, eyes now blazing with anger, "You don't know what's it's like having to run around, having the world depend on you! Having the people you care about depend on you! Asking- _begging_ for your help at every waking moment!"

He paused for a moment, as if he wanted to say more. Instead, Chase took a step forward, staring straight at the other teen, and for a brief moment, Dax thought he saw a sliver of green, "_You don't know what it's like to have parents who need you-"_

The room was interrupted by a loud smack. Chase hit the ground, and his eyes went wide as he placed a hand on his reddened cheek. Dax's eyes narrowed down at him, fists still clenched. Dax took a steady breath before taking hold of the front of Chase's shirt, hauling him so that their faces were close.

"You're right, Suno, I don't know," Dax said low and deadly voice, "but I _do_ know what it means to lose those people. You may be scared of having everything taken away, but I _know_ what it's like."

He released Chase's shirt, and the teen fell back on the ground, his legs not working suddenly. Dax turned away a bit, feeling Chase's stare.

"So get it together, _leader,_" he spat, and didn't bother to turn back around. Instead, Dax limped back over to Jinja. There was a twinge of guilt for what he had said, but that didn't matter at the moment. Especially since they now had to find Bren and Beyal and get out of the base as quickly as possible.

Jinja hadn't woken, despite them yelling. Dax took a breath, and leaned her onto his good shoulder. He couldn't carry her all the way, but he didn't have the nerve to ask Chase for help, who was now looking to the ground with a lost stare. In all honesty, there was a part of himself that took the blame for what happened to Jinja. He knew it was a bad idea to let them wander in the base without any guidance. But then again, it was no better then staying with Charlemange. Dax took Airswitch's core, and saw that it could be called out again.

"I guess we ought to go back in," he said to no one in particular, glancing back at the halls into the base. He really didn't want to go back to blindly search, but there was no other way to find them.

"… Actually," Jack said, finally making himself known and looking up to the ceiling, "My fellow desert wolves are with the rest of your friends on the roof of the base."

"What? How do you know?" Dax asked. Jack smirked, tapping on the side of his fake eye. He looked back up, and frowned.

"But it seems like there's something... else, up there with them."

"What do you mean 'something'? Like a monsuno?" Dax asked. Jack shook his head slowly.

"It's a person, except…" Jack turned to Dax with a serious look. The teen then realized that Jack wasn't staring at him, but Jinja, "They look exactly like your red-haired friend."

Dax raised a brow, "You mean another red-haired girl?"

Jack shook his head again, "I mean _exactly_ like her, but…. not."

Dax couldn't help but frown at how vague the one-eyed man was being. Either way, Beyal and Bren were on the roof of the base, meaning they just had to get out of the hanger. Dax started walking over to the hole in the wall that lead to the desert that Charlemange made. Jack started to follow as well, but then Chase suddenly gasped.

"The imposter!" He said, quickly getting to his feet.

Dax turned back with a slightly annoyed look, "Who?"

Chase ran over to them. He still had a sullen look but was starting to be replaced with concern, "When I ran into the Punk Monks, they said that they had encountered someone who could… _shapeshift_ into other people."

"Alright, now you're just making up nonsense," Dax said, shifting a bit as his leg started getting weaker, "The only thing that could shapeshift are the Hand of Destiny's monsuno, and that's with other monsuno. Not people."

Chase looked to the ground, trying to work something out in his head. He shook it, and looked back up.

"It's nothing," he said, not bothering to look at Dax, "but we should still head up and out to confront them."

"In which case, I believe _I_ can be of some aid," Jack said, holding up his core with a grin, "Freedomstriker, launch!"

HLP

"Don't move!"

Bren felt a chill run down his spine as metal pressed against his throat. His mind went blank for a moment before he half turned to Jinja. Her face was surprisingly blank, as were her eyes that stared straight at the Desert Wolves.

"Uh… Jinja…? What are you-"

"Be quiet," she snapped, gripping onto his arm harshly and pressing the blade more into his neck. He closed his mouth with an audible 'click'.

"… Better. Now," she took a step forward, "hand over the location of the ruins and the white-haired boy and I won't have to carve open his throat."

Bren was frozen with both fear and surprise. What happened to Jinja? Did she get hit in the head too hard or something?

"… Well?" she said, tightening her hold on his arm. When he looked forward, Bren could feel panic rising. Pozzo had a blank look on his face, not affected by the scene at all. Bekka was keeping a firm grip on Beyal's shoulders, who was still cringing in pain on the ground and oblivious to what was going on,"… no? I guess I'll just have to give geek boy here a new-"

"W-wait!" Bren stuttered out, and held up the Core Tablet with his free hand, "the locations on here!"

Jinja raised a brow, "Really? Care to show me?"

She let go of his arm, but kept the blade pressed against his throat. Bren quickly tapped a few buttons and the map appeared from earlier. Jinja leaned over his shoulder to get a closer look, eyes darting over it. He confused as to why she would suddenly be interested in the ruins, but then noticed that there was a gleam of green in her eyes. Slowly, she leaned back again so that she was standing straight.

"Um… You can stop joking now Jinja," Bren said, eyeing the knife in her hand. She didn't answer, eyes now fixated on Beyal. Before anyone could move, there was a shrill cry in the distance. For a brief moment, Bren thought that it was the wind starting to pick up again. His stomach dropped when he saw the owl monsuno approaching quickly in the distance. Pozzo also saw, and took a hold of a core. Bekka, on the other hand, was staring down Jinja with an intense glower, as if to gaze into her mind. Jinja let out a laugh under her breath.

"You obviously don't think I'm not serious," she said, a feral grin twisting her lips. The blade pressed harder onto Bren's throat, and he stiffened as he felt it finally pierce his skin. He shut is eyes tightly, wincing at the pain.

"… Wait."

It stopped, though Bren was holding his breath in anticipation. When nothing happened, he peeked a bit and saw Beyal struggling to get to his knees. The monk looked up with a worried look before turning to Bekka. They didn't say anything, and she looked away sullenly.

"That's more I like it," Jinja said. Suddenly, Bren felt himself pushed forward toward the mute woman, who was just a surprised when they both toppled over. Wasting no time, Jinja charged at Beyal with the knife. Before she could strike, Pozzo had stepped forward, grabbing her hand. Jinja growled a bit under her breath, and Bekka was back on her feet running over to them. Soon, Jinja and the Desert Wolves were swinging and dodging at each other, slowly edging away from the two teens. When Bren started to rise to get to Beyal, a shadow flashed across the roof, and the owl monsuno was above them all.

"Oh crag."

All movements were ceased when the monsuno let out a shriek down at them. Bren gripped his ears in pain, the noise somehow even more powerful then last time. He tried to look up to see who was winning, and felt rain starting to fall down on them. The roof they were on suddenly shook, and Bren saw the owl monsuno only a few feet away. It's snake-like eyes glazed over them all as it's head twitched. For some reason, it looked even more grotesque then the last time they had seen it, feathers falling out and being replaced by scales.

There was a shout, and Bren turned to see Jinja had thrown Bekka far off towards the edge of the roof where it started to curve downward. Instead of turning to the rest of them, Jinja ran after her, blade still drawn. She didn't get far before Pozzo was swinging the mallet at her. From the corner of his eye, Bren saw the monsuno look at him, eyes turning into narrow slits.

"Oh no," he said, then bolted over to Beyal as the monsuno surged after him. He slid to his knees next to the monk, "C'mon Beyal! Let's go! That thing is going to-"

He looked up to see the monsuno open it's jaw as it lunged forward, and he let out a cry as he clenched his eyes shut.

Surprisingly he didn't feel any pain. And then realized that he was still somehow alive. Slowly, he eased his eyes open and let out a gasp.

Beyal stood above him, somehow keeping the monsuno's jaw from shutting on the two of them. Bren sat, frozen by fear and amazement. Beyal was struggling, and grit his teeth as the monsuno pushed forward, it's sharpened beak tearing into his palms.

"…_Get down!"_

Bren was snapped out of his daze, and dropped flat on the ground. There was the sound of an impact, and the monsuno fell far backwards. Bren let out a sigh, then saw Beyal fall to one knee.

"You alright?" Bren asked as he crawled over to the monk, noting how blood was running down his hands. Beyal's cheeks were still flushed, and it was hard to tell if there was sweat pouring down his face in the rain. He glanced over to Bren with half-lidded eyes, green fading in and out of his normally gray gaze.

"_… Bren,_" he muttered, and the brown-haired teen knew that he was talking to the monsuno, "_That girl is not your friend."_

Bren gave a concerned look, "then… Who are they?"

There was a shout, and they both turned around to see both Bekka and Pozzo struggling against Jinja. They all became disarmed, and were now throwing punches and kicks. Bren heard the monsuno shifting, and turned around.

Slowly, he stood up against the wind, and took out a core. He faced the monsuno as it slumped it's body upward, eyeing them again as it's head twisted.

"Neo-Quickforce, laun-"

The whole roof shook again, knocking him off his feet. There was an explosion towards the back of the base, and two orange monsuno flew out and away into the desert. The owl monsuno saw the flash of orange, and flew after them instead.

'Since when are the Punk Monks here?' Bren thought, a bit grateful that the rogue monsuno flew away instead of going after him and Beyal again. He couldn't ponder on the Punk Monks for long, as another shout of pain was heard. Bekka was now cradling her shoulder, Jinja's blade stick out of it. Giving her no time to recover, Jinja bolted over with a dark smirk. She dodged Pozzo, and kicked Bekka far off to the side so that she was now sliding off the roof, ripping the blade out as she did.

"Bekka!" Pozzo shouted, and went forward. He grabbed her arm, and managed to grip onto the metal surface before they could fall off any more. Jinja smirked, and turned back to the other two. Bren started to panic, and heard the monsuno behind him. Taking a steady breath, Bren took Neo-Quickforce's core in his hand again.

"Oh don't bother," Jinja said. She charged forward at lightning speed with the knife. Beyal suddenly stood in front of Bren, knocking the blade out of the red-haired girls hand. She grunted, and the two of them started to jab and dodge along the roof. Their hits were swift, but not quite hitting a critical blow. Beyal -or rather the monsuno - was struggling to stay swift on his feet. Somehow, the monk managed to knock the red-haired girl down, and didn't hesitate to restrain her, straddling her waist and griping around her throat.

"_Who are you really?"_ he growled out. She whimpered a bit, which to Bren sounded strange for her to make such a noise. The monsuno was unfazed by that, and raised a fist.

"Beyal please!" Jinja cried, voice now ringing with pain and fear. He gasped and let go, and Bren saw that the white-haired teen was back in control. He eased off of her quickly, unsure of what happened. She sat up as well, panting a bit.

"Jinja? Are you-"

Jinja suddenly lunged forward, striking Beyal in the jaw. Bren ran forward instinctively to kneel next to the monk. Jinja stood up ,taking a step back. Bren glared a bit at her.

"So who are you?" Bren asked, trying not to let his gaze waver. Jinja looked at him with a passive and unreadable look. She threw something at the two of them, and from it burst a weighted net. The brown haired teen didn't have time to react as it caught him and Beyal, letting out a short cry. While Bren knew that he was on the scrawny side, the net felt unnaturally heavy, making him crouch even lower. He couldn't help but wonder how she managed to get a hold of such a thing.

"It's pitiful to know that the Hand has trouble with your group," Jinja said, stalking over to the two.

"Wh-what do you want?" Bren said, starting to shiver a bit as the rain soaked through his clothes and started to puddle around them. The storm was starting to pick up even more, the wind whipping and whistling about. Jinja ignored him and looked off to the distance. The desert wolves were still struggling to get back up, and the owl monsuno had turned back and was now heading towards them.

"Well, I suppose it's about time we head out," Jinja said, then looked over to Bren with a cold stare, "I ought to dispose of you two, seeing that you're nothing but trouble-" Bren saw the monsuno land and stalk over with narrow eyes centered on them, and gulped nervously "-but since you were so willing to give me the location, I'll spare your life for now. Especially considering how much more useful you may prove."

"W-wait!" he said, "W-who are you really?"

An explosion on the farther side of roof erupted, and a red monsuno appeared from the smoke. Jinja stood dumbly for a moment as it turned towards them, a familiar one-eyed man standing on its back in triumph.

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A/N: Review Review Review!


	33. Chapter 33

A/N: Thanks to ChasexJinjaForever and KaimelartheDreamer for the reviews. Enjoy!

* * *

The red monsuno burst from the core in a flash, puffing a bit. Jack grinned as he saw that his partner was okay after that last attack by Charlemage. Even though he knew of the danger of going into the S.T.O.R.M. base, he wasn't quite as prepared to face off against the Commadant, especially after what she had done to him in the mountains of Tibal. Regardless, Jack turned to the other two teens with a smirk.

"It seems everyone is directly above us, though it might take some effort to get through," he said. Chase nodded, and took a hold of a core.

"We better hurry. The bomb is probably going to go off any minute now," he said, but was stopped when Dax grabbed his wrist.

"Hold on," he said, "_You_ should take Jinja and get out of here. _I'll_ go up and get the others."

Chase turned to him with a scowl, pulling his wrist free, "No. I'm going up there to get Bren and Beyal. You can't even stand properly. How do you expect to fight the imposter."

The two teens glared at each other, tensions obviously rising. Jack watched for a moment, noting how there seemed to be a strange aura around Chase (at least when looking through his good eye). Earlier they were arguing, but he tried not to listen in as he watched everyone else above them, even though it was obvious that something was wrong with the two teens.

"Do you even know what we're up against?" Dax said, shifting the unconscious girl on his shoulder, "Every single fight we've been in so far you've been distracted. What's to say that won't happen again and you make things worse?"

Chase bit his lip, looking away. His fists were clenched, and that glow seemed to heighten at his anger. It was then that Jack decided to intervene.

"I would have to agree with your friend," he said to Chase, "Me and my fellow Desert Wolves will see to your friends-"

"I am plenty capable of taking care of them!" Chase exclaimed. Jack frowned at him, seeing that green glow heighten a bit. Dax laid Jinja down and stepped forward so that he was staring down the other teen.

"Chase," he said in a serious tone, "This is not just about you, this is about us. We all have to get out of here. I don't know what's your problem, but that is what's important right now."

Dax walked off towards the inside of the hanger, walking slow as he avoided the hole in the ground. Jack turned back to Chase, who was staring at the ground.

"My dear boy," he said, "I believe it is for the best that you take your friend and escape this place as soon as possible…"

Chase merely continued to look to the ground, ignoring what Jack said. The man let out a sigh.

"Have you... listened to your monsuno recently?" He asked. Chase looked up with a curious look, so Jack continued.

"When brother Locke was out of his core, there was distress in his voice as he spoke of you," the one-eyed man said, walking up to the teen and picking up the core in his hand. He held it up so they could both see its blue glow, "Your monsuno's connection can say a lot if you listen. Even for a single moment."

There was a flash of mistrust in Chase's eyes, but Jack stared back earnestly. While he could no longer hear the voices of the monsuno as clearly as before, they were still there. At least for the stronger ones that he had encountered before (and Locke was probably the strongest he had seen so far).

He placed the core gently back in Chase's palm and walked off to follow Dax, leaving the teen to ponder on his own thoughts. Jack knew he would leave on his own anyway (especially seeing that Dax left Jinja with him). And for Chase's sake it was better for him not to get involved, seeing that violence only seemed to make that green glow around him turn brighter.

Jack didn't trust it. Not when it was also oozing from the person attacking the others on the roof.

Dax saw him approaching, and took a hold of a core, but was stopped when Jack placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Not yet," he said, "you may need that later."

Instead, he turned to Freedomstriker, and hopped onto its back. He offered a hand to Dax, who took it with some hesitance.

"Burning Thunder!"

The monsuno launched a beam upward, going through the layers of the roof in the blink of an eye. The whole base shook from the force, quaking as if it were going to collapse at any moment. Without another word, the monsuno quickly leapt up through the hole it created, emerging from the dust and broken bits as it clawed its way up to the roof.

Jack leapt off immediately, rain now pouring all over them as the darkened clouds stretched across the sky as he took in the sight with silence. When Dax followed suit and stood at his side, letting out a gasp at the scene. Both Pozzo and Bekka were on the far side of the roof, trying to climb back up, but slowly sliding off because of the rain (and Bekka was clutching onto her shoulder with a pained expression). The other two teens in Chase's group were on the ground, trapped under what looked like a steel net. A large white monsuno stood a few feet from them, as well as-

"Jinja…!" Dax said a bit faintly, eyes widening at the appearance of the person standing in front of them. Indeed she looked exactly like the other girl, but was wearing a S.T.O.R.M. uniform like the other two Desert Wolves, and that disgusting green glow flowed about her (at least that's what Jack could see). She scowled at the two of them.

"Who the hell are you," she said, eyes narrowing. Jack didn't respond, staring back just as fiercely. Thunder boomed overhead, and there was a flash of lightning.

Jack saw something in the corner of his eye, and immediately pulled Dax to the ground as something flew overhead and tackled into Freedomstriker. When they both looked up, they saw a dark, jackal looking monsuno wrestling about with the red monsuno. Jack growled a bit, and ran over to help. He could also see his fellow Desert Wolves starting to slide further down the roof, and knew he had to act fast.

"Freedomstriker, terror strike!"

The red monsuno threw the other off, and immediately charged into it in an attempt to throw it off the building. Unfortunately, the other monsuno was slightly larger then his, and barely flinched at the attack. Before Jack ran over to his fellows, he could see Dax staring off to the red-haired girl furiously, and grinned at the sight of the boy grabbing a core from his belt.

"Jack!"

He turned to see the jackal monsuno charging at him, fangs bared.

HLP

His head was spinning. Or the world was spinning, it was hard to tell with his eyes closed. People were shouting and monsuno were roaring when Beyal tried to look. When Jinja struck him, he stayed still as a headache suddenly spiked, followed by an immense pressure against his body. He found it was easy to see, since there was no harsh sunlight out, though the rain was starting to chill the air. He let out a groan as he tried sitting up, only to fail with the object on top weighing him down. When he grasped it, he realized it was a metal net.

"Beyal?" He looked to see Bren extremely close, also trapped inside. Beyal blinked a few times, and then saw the gash that was running along the brown-haired teen's neck, "How're you holding up?"

The monk couldn't answer, or found himself unable to at the moment. His throat hurt, his hands hurt, almost everything hurt. He could also hear the voice from before urging him to get up, but ignored it.

Shouting caught both of their attention, and they saw Dax throwing out a core. Airswitch emerged in a flurry of blue, immediately rushing at the owl monsuno. The two of them clashed, as did two more on the farther side by the Desert Wolves, though that battle was harder to see. The two flying monsuno took to the skies, causing bright flashes to streak across the sky amongst the lightning.

Another shout caught their attention, and Dax was suddenly tacking Jinja to the ground, slamming her into the metal with a harsh thud. She didn't waver, and immediately started to try and overpower him.

"Dax be careful, that's not really Jinja!" Bren said, now trying to pull the edges of the net up. They were unnaturally sticking to the roof, which made Beyal suspect that they were also magnetized.

"Already know that Glasses!" Dax snapped, trying to pin the red-haired girl down as she kicked and threw punches at him. She managed to kick him off, and crouched down ready to pounce. There was a flash of metal, and the three of them could see her pull out another blade.

"You still wanna tussle?" she smirked, eyes blazing. Dax took a defensive stance, and she let out another yell as she thrusted the blade forward.

Bren made a sudden frustrated sound, and Beyal looked over to see him messing with one of the edges of the net. There were large metal bolts that were along the edges that the brown-haired teen was prying into. A piece of metal came off, revealing a variety of wires. Quickly but carefully, Bren started sorting through them.

There was a scream, and Beyal looked back to see a jackal-like monsuno, throwing a red one off to the side before charging after two people struggling to get back on the roof.

"Bekka!" Beyal shouted in realization. Before the monsuno could reach them, the red one from before jumped onto it. The two Desert Wolves looked injured, at least the mute woman did from the way her fave contorted with pain and how she clutched her shoulder. Their leader (who had also shown up at some point) went running to the two, getting low as he said something to Bekka.

"Got it!" Bren exclaimed, and the weight from the net eased until it was normal. Bren quickly cast it off the two of them, glancing around quickly. Jinja, who had somehow ended up on top of Dax with her blade cast aside, immediately saw the two of them and looked up to the sky with a furious look.

"Stop them!" She exclaimed. The three teens also looked up to see the two flying monsuno taking a dive towards them. The owl monsuno screeched, and knocked Airswitch off to the side, setting its eyes on Bren and Beyal. The monsuno flew at them at lightning speed, making Bren let out a surprised yelp before grabbing Beyal's wrist and yanking him to his feet. They didn't get far before the monsuno let out a flurry of wind across the whole roof, knocking them off their feet.

"Guys!" Dax shouted, only to get punched in the chest. He gasped in pain as she hopped to her feet, glancing quickly over to Jack and his monsuno battle. The one-eyed man was having trouble, especially trying to defend his comrades when his monsuno would be thrown aside, so she turned back to the owl monsuno in the air. Beyal saw it edging towards them, and got back to his feet, swaying a bit as his legs hurt. He tried to ignored that and grabbed a core.

Suddenly, the base shook violently, and everyone was stunned for a moment. The first one to notice what was happening was Jack, who let out a audible gasp, even amongst the rain fall.

"The wild core bomb's going off!" He exclaimed. Jinja frowned darkly before she turned around and kicked Dax in the stomach. He let out another pained sound, and struggled to get to his hands and knees. Bren let out a gasp as he stood.

"We still have to find Chase and Jinja!" he said. The fake Jinja turned to him and Beyal with a snarl before looking to the two monsuno.

"Get them!" she shouted. They surged forward, and Beyal's grip on the core tightened.

"Mysticblade."

"Neo-Quickforce!"

"Launch!"

The two cores collided, and the two blue monsuno immediately clashed into the two incoming ones. Beyal gave a glance to Bren, who was watching the battle with a worried look. Beyal looked down, trying to think through the situation. If the monsuno and the Jinja impostor in front of them could be distracted for a few minutes, then they could go after Chase and the real Jinja before the bomb goes off, which was probably less than five minutes. It was then that Beyal noticed that the red-haired girl was staring at him intently, as if waiting for the opportunity to pounce. He took a breath, then ran to the edge of the roof.

"W-wait!" Bren shouted, "Beyal what're you-"

"Mysticblade, this way!" the monk shouted as loudly as he could. It took all his strength to stand, and even more to run as fast as he did. His monsuno immediately responded, twisting itself around the others and making its way towards him. He didn't need to give it instructions as he leapt off the edge and onto its back. Beyal glanced back, and saw the two rogue monsuno tailing after him immediately, Jinja included. He looked past them and saw Bren running over to Dax, and a took a breath. He wanted to relax as he held onto his monsuno, but knew he couldn't with the owl monsuno nearing him, Jinja on its back.

'whoever they are, they're probably after the original monsuno,' he thought, then looked forward as Mysticblade picked up speed. The voice from the monsuno kept trying to speak to him in his mind, but it was ignored. As far as Beyal could tell, that fake Jinja was after the monsuno in his mind, and that just meant he had to get her and the rogue monsuno away from everyone else so they could escape and find Chase and the real Jinja. He turned around, intending to command an attack, but stopped when he couldn't see the white monsuno, not even the one that had been chasing him on the ground.

"Where…" he muttered, then stopped when there was a shift in the air. There was crackling that was quickly followed by a deafening explosion, and the base suddenly became engulfed in flames. The wild core bomb had been set off.

The shockwave made all the monsuno flinch, and from the corner's of his vision, Beyal could see that Dax, Bren, and the Desert Wolves had all made it off the roof and were frantically trying to get away from the increasing cloud of fire. But that wasn't what he was focused on. Two important people were missing.

The same people they had gone in there to find.

"JINJA! CHASE!"

The teen's ears started to ring, but he couldn't tell if it was from the explosion or the shock. His heart was beating faster, and looked back with wide-eyes. Mysticblade sensed his controller's distress, and came to a stop, well enough away from the explosion. The base was engulfed in burst of red and orange, expanding as to show no sign of anything from before. He finally snapped out of his daze when he saw Bren and Dax, still flying away from the edges of the flames, heading towards him with panicked faces. After a few seconds, Beyal realized that it wasn't for themselves.

"Gotcha!"

Mysticblade was slammed into from above, nearly knocking Beyal off. There was laughter, and he looked up to see the fake red-haired girl looking down at him with a smug look. Beyal glared back as the owl monsuno brought them down at a blinding speed.

"Mysticblade, sky nova!"

The monsuno writhed and twisted before letting out a blast, barely hitting the owl monsuno's wing. It screeched and finally released the other. Unfortunately, as it started to dive away, another monsuno jumped up from behind and latched itself onto Beyal's monsuno. He quickly turned around to see the Jackal monsuno clawing at his own, and was surprised to see that it had managed to jump up so high. When it bit down on Mysticblade's wing, the blue monsuno let out a shriek in pain.

There was a flash of light above, and the owl monsuno launched a blast down, making Mysticblade finally disappear into a blue flash. Beyal was left free falling, letting out a scream as his monsuno was called back to its core. He shut his eyes, not knowing whether he would hit the ground first or get caught by a monsuno, his teammates, or someone else. His fall was short lived as he dropped on top of another flying monsuno.

At first he was relieved, thinking it was Dax or Bren, but quickly looked up to see the fake Jinja laughing darkly as she stood toward the opposite side of the monsuno they were on. She started to stalk over to him, and Beyal panicked, trying to find a way to escape other then jumping off. She saw this, and laughed even more.

"Game over monsuno," she said, green eyes blazing. Beyal gulped nervously as she stopped a foot away, looking down with a sinister smile.

"W-What do you want?" he asked nervously, trying to buy some time. She didn't respond immediately, rather stared at him intensely for a moment. She finally spoke when she reached for something on the S.T.O.R.M. belt she wore.

"I'm guessing you either have some idea or none at all about the monsuno inside you," she said, eyes darkening as she frowned, "Me and my comrades need it. We'll just expel it from you, and then your free to do whatever."

Beyal raised a brow, "It's not that simple though. Is it?"

The fake Jinja looked down, chuckling again, "Of course not."

Her eyes blazed green again as she looked up with a crazed look, "We've got to _rip_ it from _your soul. And afterwards we're going after Suno!"_

"Then I'll make it easy for you!"

The two of them looked up to the new voice, and immediately recognized who it came from as a black-haired teen with a blue jacket stood on a blue monsuno, diving down towards them.

"Cause I'm right here!"

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A/N: Review Review Review!


	34. Chapter 34

A/N: Thanks to ChasexJinjaForever and KaimelartheDreamer for the reviews, have another chapter this week because you're all so nice. We also finally get some insight into who exactly those hooded people really are (though its only a little bit). Enjoy!

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Chase climbed upon Deepsix with Jinja, and immediately fled into the desert as soon as Dax and One-Eyed Jack left. He wasn't even sure how far or where to go, just that he had to get as far away from the base as possible. He finally stopped when an oasis came into view. There appeared to be a town next to it, but also looked abandoned. Chase looked back, the base still in view even through the fog rolling in because of the storm.

'… Is everyone okay? Have they left yet?' Chase thought. Before he was furious with Dax, but now he was more worried since he had time to think about what the other teen had said. He couldn't help but think bitterly about how he had been swayed so easily to leave Jinja behind and go off into the base alone. Slowly, he got off Deepsix, who huffed a bit. Should he go back? Would anyone want him to? Would he mess everything up like Dax had said. He looked up at the rain, trying to clear his thoughts.

"_… Chase."_

He froze for a moment, a chill running up his spine. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes. 'I don't hear it. She's not there."

_"Chase. You have to help me."_

'No… No I don't,' he reasoned in his mind. He balled his hands into fists, trying to concentrate on the rainfall instead. That, however, only made her voice sound more enticing. But he knew if he listened to it for much longer, he might end up having another panic attack.

"_Please Chase. Go back."_

The desperation in her voice made him anxious. His fingers automatically went to another core, though he hesitated to spin it out. He just had to stay still and wait for Dax to bring Bren and Beyal back, and then they could decide from there as a group what to do next. Maybe they could even find shelter in the village for a day or two.

"_Go back. You have to go back."_

'I… I can't,' he thought, looking down at his hand. At some point he had grabbed Evo's core from his belt, 'Nothing is back there… And I'll just mess everything up...'

_"Chase, I need you! PLEASE!"_

"Evo," he whispered down to the core, then ran out into the rain and tossed it into a sand dune, "Launch!"

The blue monsuno went up into the sky before coming back low for Chase. He stared for a moment, unsure of whether to actually go. When he took a few steps forward, Jinja groaned again.

"uh… Chase…?" she said, and looked back to see her still on top of Deepsix, looking at him, "Where… What…"

Chase hesitated, knowing that he shouldn't just leave Jinja on her own in her weakened state. He walked back over to her, when she suddenly gasped, and turned to Chase with a panicked look.

"Chase! Drezz is after the others!" she said, then frowned, "Or. I think its Drezz. It might not be- I'm not sure- but he's after Bren and Beyal!"

Chase blinked, then realized she was talking about the impostor.

"What do you mean he's after them?" Chase asked, raising a brow. Jinja took a deep breath, wincing a bit.

"There's… Been something off about Beyal ever since yesterday," she said, looking down, "and it has to do with the Hand of Destiny and the Original Monsuno. We have to go back for them!"

That was it. Chase knew that he had to go back now from the way Jinja spoke. Still, he wasn't sure about bringing her along, especially if Dax had already ordered him to leave. He also wasn't sure about anything she was telling him about the Hand and their plan, but that meant he had to leave as soon as possible. Especially if that fake had anything to do with it.

"Don't worry, I'm going back to get everyone now," he said. She stared blankly for a moment before quickly looking around at their new surroundings.

"Wait. Where are we? Did you just leave them at the base?" She asked sitting up, but then flinched in pain.

"Dax already went after them, so just head over to that village with Deepsix until I get back," he said, then placed his monsuno's core into her hand, knowing there was only a minute or two left before the monsuno would go back into it. Jinja stared at him, then back down to the core silently. There was a look of realization, and she started searching for something. She turned to Chase with some panic

"Chase. Where are my _cores_?"

"Uh…" Chase started, then stood up, backing up nervously. She raised a brow at his action, then sat up straighter.

"Chase, do you have my cores?" she asked suspiciously.

"Uh… About that."

"Chase give me my cores- hey!" Chase took off, grabbing a hold of his monsuno as it took off back to the base, Jinja yelling after him.

"Chase Suno get back here!"

"I can't do that Jin! I promised Dax I keep you out of trouble!" he shouted back, "Well… Half promised, but I'll be back with everyone else!"

Jinja continued to yell at him as he and his monsuno soared quickly off to the S.T.O.R.M. base. _Her_ voice had gone strangely silent, though that could have been because of how he was following what she said. As soon as he got close, Chase could see two white blurs leaving the base, going after a blue one, but it was hard to tell throughout he rain who it was riding.

"Evo, go left and up above the clouds," he said, and the monsuno swerved in the air. As they picked up altitude, the wild core bomb had gone off and left the base up in flames. Since they were well away from the explosion, Chase kept them on course, guessing that his mother was guiding him to this friends.

"_Do what they say,"_ her voice suddenly said, "_No matter what."_

Chase blinked, 'Wait. No matter what _who_ says? Is there someone else there?'

Her voice paused, and Chase slowed Evo down a bit. He could see that the blue flash had disappeared in the sky, which left the two white ones somewhat nearby. One fell to the ground as another stayed high in the air.

"_They will guide you to the Hand. Do not doubt me. As long as you follow what they say, everything will be fine."_

He let out a sigh. More cryptic nonsense. He signaled Evo to glide forward slowly, her voice whispering him to keep going. He didn't want to, but when the white monsuno came into view, he had no choice.

Because when Jack had said that there was a look alike to Jinja, he wasn't lying.

The one standing on top of the owl monsuno looked exactly like Jinja, except for the S.T.O.R.M. uniform and that crazed look that flashed in her green eyes as she looked down at Beyal. Chase couldn't help but think about Jack's comment in the hanger, which made him a bit curious. He and Evo stayed a few feet away, covered by some of the fog and clouds in the sky as the impostor stared down the monk. She was saying something to him, and there was something menacing in the way she stood.

Chase grit his teeth, hands quivering. He knew that the impostor was the one talking to him before as Drezz, acting like his friend, and all he wanted to do was knock them out of the sky for lying to him. But _her _voice continued to whisper out to him, urging him to just go with whatever the impostor said. Soon, her voice seemed to echo louder then the storm they were in, even amongst the thunder and wind. He took a shaking breath, and like before, took a hold of Locke's core.

He believed in what Jack had said about the bonds between him and his monsuno. He knew that is what made her voice go away, as much as it pained him to do it. But that wasn't the voice that had guided them. It was something else...

He hated to admit it, but maybe it wasn't his mother that he was hearing.

"Evo, get closer."

The Jinja look alike let out a cackle, "-_And afterwards we're going after Suno!"_

Chase stood up, still clutching onto Locke's core as he did, "Then I'll make it easy for you!" The two looked up, and Chase found himself smirked with confidence as Locke buzzed in anticipation, "Cause I'm right here!"

HLP

The teen in the dark cloak let out another sigh, tossing a glowing green orb in their hand completely bored with the situation. There were two others that were sitting idly by in the dark, waiting for another order or for their fourth comrade to return, which ever happened first. The Hand of Destiny was always explicit with what they wanted, but even then, there was now way of knowing how to get things done, especially when Chase Suno was involved. That and they weren't even given any monsuno of their own, setting them up for more failure if they did meet up with the boy.

_"..."_

The cloaked teen let out a sigh. Their temporary leader decided to go off as that Punk Monk to find the fourth monsuno they failed to obtain, but man was it taking so long. They were on the outskirts of a jungle, east of the S.T.O.R.M. base just waiting around. It had started to rain, and they retreated into a nearby cave. Even though it was starting to get cold, none of them bothered with a fire. Light always seemed to hurt after being in the dark caverns of the Hand after all these years.

"…"

"_Stop sighing_," a deep, older voice said, "_... It's annoying._"

The one standing looked over to the other two, catching the crystal and pocketing it, "I_ can't help it if there's nothing to do right now, not with Ehna off making friends with Suno."_

An annoyed grumble came from one of the figures that was sitting, while the third figure stayed silent.

"_You know that's why we had to go after those four dressed in orange from_ before," the one standing continued,_ "Ehna wanted someone familiar to get good with Suno. As if that would make it easier to capture him."_

_"As long as the Hand has Sophia, it won't matter what Ehna does,"_ the second voice argued, "_Especially since we're already so close to capturing the last monsuno."_

"_Um.. don't you remember? The fourth monsuno we lost yesterday? 'Cause there's still that one we have to find. And there's no telling where it could be while we're stuck waiting here_," the teen said, crossing their arms, "_we ought to just leave and have Ehna catch up with us. I mean, it's not like we have much time to find the last seal anyway. Not with the monsuno essence becoming even more unstable._"

_"…If it makes you shut up, we can,_" the other said, glancing at the third person who was still silent. They had not moved the whole time, so the other two dismissed it. Of course it was hard to tell what any of them were thinking with their hoods up, and they were never allowed to see each other's faces. Not since they were first brought to the Hand all those years ago...

The teen that was standing looked out to the rain, pondering on this even though it was useless to. Did they even have their own faces anymore? The Hand kept them for so long, it was hard to even remember. And they didn't dare to remove the hoods, not after all the failures from before.

_"…"_

_"I said stop sighing."_

_"Why isn't Tesserah saying anything? It can't be that hard to hold a connection to the Hand,_" the younger teen pressed on, gazing over to their silent companion.

_"I'd like to see you try to keep the two Suno's connected. Not to mention keeping the woman in line in case she says too much about the Hand like before."_

The teen grew silent at this. It was only for an instant, but Sophia Suno had managed to get away from their influence long enough to get into Chase's dreams. Hopefully she had not said too much.

The third figure finally gasped, though they also tried to stay unmoving. The teen in the doorway walked over to the other two, kneeling down.

"_What is it, Tesserah?"_

_"She's probably haven trouble with Suno again,"_ the deeper voiced one said, leaning back against the cave wall,_ "Or, more likely, Suno's lynchpin."_

HLP

"Ch-Chase! You're alright!" Beyal exclaimed, looking a bit weary. Chase nodded back, but then focused on the impostor, who had a blank expression as they stared back. He knew he had to be alert, especially since the two of them were on top of one of the rogue monsuno. Evo hadn't made a move to go closer, and Chase didn't want to make any moves that would anger the girl. Suddenly, a smile appeared.

"It's so good to know you made it out, Chase!" she said in a sweet voice. Too sweet to be Jinja's, "Hurry. Let's get out of here before S.T.O.R.M. shows up!"

"_... Do it Chase._" He gasped when he heard her voice again, and was surprised by what it said, "_Follow along with what she says."_

The other two teens looked at him curiously as he grasped his head in pain for a moment. Her voice was now ringing as it spoke, and Locke seemed to know from the way the core violently reacted. It finally subsided enough for him to straighten up.

"N-no," Chase stuttered a bit, not sure who he was speaking to now, "I… We'll be leaving without you… You fake."

The false Jinja's smile faltered, and twisted into a frown at the insult. He wasn't sure about how to play this situtation out with Beyal still on the other monsuno, and it was even harder with his mother's voice pressuring him. Regardless, the fake Jinja shrugged.

"That's a shame, I was hoping for you to be more cooperative," she said, and grabbed a blade from her belt. Beyal immediately tried to scoot backward, but found it impossible to do without falling off. The red-haired girl kept her eyes on Chase though, and he felt the need to look away. However, he kept staring into those pools of green that glowered back at him, knowing what would happen if he did.

"Chase," she said darkly, then lifted the blade in Beyal's direction, "That wasn't a suggestion. That was an order. You, me, and the monk boy are all taking a trip, or things will get messy."

The wind picked up for a moment, and Chase saw a flicker of red from below, but didn't look down at it. Instead, he edged Evo a bit closer, knowing he would have to move at the right moment. As he got nearer, he could see the girl's green eyes blazing as she looked at him. When they were closer, Chase could see she was now looking at Locke's core.

"... Alright," he said, making no sudden movements. He could hear Beyal make a distressed sound, and the fake Jinja smiled. Before any of them could react, a blast suddenly hit the owl monsuno from the left, nearly knocking the two teens off. Evo flew upward, and Chase clung onto it for a brief moment before standing again.

"Who...!" she sputtered, and looked down to see a flying red monsuno charging up at them. As soon as she was distracted, Chase quickly jumped off Evo and onto the twitching, owl monsuno. He had trouble standing, but threw one of Beyal's arms over his shoulder, heaving him up just as the red-haired girl turned to them with a fierce look. Chase couldn't help but smirk back as they jumped off and down onto Evo, who dove to catch them before gliding away.

"Stop them!" she shouted as the owl monsuno, only to get blasted by another monsuno, this one from below. When Chase looked back, he saw it was the Desert Wolves who had also gotten out of the base in time. All three of them had their monsuno out, and were going against the two white ones in a fierce battle.

"Chase!" he looked up to his left to see Bren and Dax flying closer on Neo-Quickforce, "We need to get out of here!"

"Where's Jinja at, Suno?" Dax immediately said. Chase felt a twinge of guilt for going against Dax, then shook that feeling away as he looked forward.

"She's back in the desert," he responded, then looked back to the battle that was getting farther away, "but we should go back to help them."

Dax shook his head, "Can't do that. As much as we wanted to, they said we had more important things to deal with then that Hand of Destiny lackey."

Chase blinked at the comment, "Wait. That person back there really does work for the Hand of Destiny?"

"According to what Master Ey told the Desert Wolves they were," Bren said, "but even they didn't say much."

"All the more reason we should go back then," Chase said. He was about to order Evo to turn around when he felt Beyal lean against his back suddenly. Looking over his shoulder, Chase could see that he was struggling to stay awake. And it was only then did Chase notice how battered everyone was.

While he himself felt only exhausted, he could see the other three had more physical injuries. Beyal's palms had large cuts, along with a bruise on the left side of his jaw. The rain had smeared blood across Bren's neck from a cut to where it stained his jacket and shirt. Dax had a few bruises on his face as well, and flinched in pain every time he moved. Chase bit his lip, also thinking about how Jinja had trouble just standing. He was about to respond when a whisper made him gasp.

"_Go back Chase. You need to go back."_

He froze a bit, even though the voice wasn't as strong as before. Locke's core glowed faintly, and Chase looked down at it. He felt himself calming as he looked down at the blue glow, and let out a sigh.

"... Alright," Chase said against the voice, "we'll leave it to One-Eyed Jack."

With that, the two monsuno flew faster into the desert and away from the battle.

Just knowing that the person was part of the Hand made the urge to go back even stronger. No wonder his mother kept urging him to go with them. He probably would've been taken back to where she was being held. Of course, that didn't mean he would be able to escape with her, and that just made it all the more frustrating.

It didn't take long for the monsuno screeching to become quieter, and the base became distant. Chase guided them back to the oasis village silently, still pondering on who the impostor was. He knew that there were five people in the Hand, but none of them were capable of transforming like other people, and neither was their monsuno.

The rain had finally let up enough to a light drizzle by the time they landed in the middle of the village. As Chase had suspected, there was no one in sight, most likely cleared out when S.T.O.R.M. had set up their base. Chase slid off Evo, taking a breath as he put Locke back on his belt. He glanced up and saw Jinja, the real one, running over to them. He held his hands up a bit in defense, but saw the panic on her face and realized she was looking behind him.

"Beyal!" she shouted as she ran past Chase without another glance. The monk had also gotten off the monsuno, but fell forward as soon as he did. Bren, surprisingly, had ran over just as quickly, kneeling down as Jinja eased the monk down. The two of them were asking him questions, but Chase felt himself being stared at, and looked up to see Dax glaring at him.

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A/N: Review Review Review!


	35. Chapter 35

A/N: Thanks to ChasexJinjaForever and KaimelartheDreamer for the reviews! I really just want to skip to the ending that I've been working on, but alas we must push on through a few more chapters. Also apologies for this taking so long (classes just started again). Enjoy!

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The group sat besides a small fire inside one of the more put together buildings, which seemed to be an old inn. The whole village had been abandoned, and mostly plundered with only a few things left to scavenge. Bren couldn't help but think how similar the situation was to the day before. The only exception being that they were even more beaten up, tensions were higher, and Beyal had somehow stayed awake since arriving. He looked to the fireplace, and let out a sigh. He wanted to say something, but everything seemed to go down hill so fast as soon as they got back.

He glanced around the room for a second. There were a few beds in the room, though covered in dust. He and Jinja were sitting next to the roaring fireplace, though she stared mindlessly into the flames. Beyal was sitting on one of the beds on the far side facing away from them, meditating quietly on the bed. Dax was leaning on the wall nearby, while Chase was lying on one of the closer beds staring up at the ceiling. Bren let out a sigh, then looked forward, trying to get warm from the fire.

…...

_When Neo-Quickforce landed, Bren and Dax leapt off immediately. Jinja was a few feet away, then ran over when Evo landed. _

_"Beyal!" Jinja shouted as she caught him before he could fall. Bren ran over as well, dropping to his knees as he did so. The monk,__ who was looking up with half lidded eyes, blinked a few times in confusion as he looked around._

_"Where... Jinja...? Is that really you?" he asked. Jinja gave a puzzled look for a moment, then gave a smile._

_"Yeah, its me," she said, then grew serious, "What happened."_

_"Monsuno showed up… Wild core bomb went off," Beyal said, then sat up shakily. Jinja then let out a gasp when she got sight of his hands, then looked to Bren as well._

_"Ah! Your both bleeding!" Jinja said a bit horrified. Bren hadn't realized how badly he had been cut, and looked down to see the collar of his shirt stained (though he honestly thought that was because of the rain)._

_"It's not as bad as it looks," Bren said, wiping his sleeve against his neck a bit to clean it a little. Jinja still gave a worried look, but turned back to Beyal when he tried standing._

_"I'm fine," he said, trying to give her a reassuring smile, only to look exhausted. Bren turned back to Neo-Quickforce, and held out its core._

_"Return!"_

_The core let out a pop when the monsuno was called back. Except there was something wrong. Bren looked down at the core, noticing how faint the glow was for some reason. This happened before, but this time the light was fainter. He didn't have much time to ponder on it, as Chase __suddenly brushed past them and got back on Evo._

_"W-wait! Chase, where are you going?" Bren asked._

_"Back to help Jack," he said, "We should confront that fake and find out what they're after."_

_"It was pretty obvious what they were after, Suno," Dax suddenly said, crossing his arms. It was then that Bren noticed how furious he seemed to look when facing Chase, "and you'll just be playing into their hands if you go back."_

_Chase looked back, frowning deeply. For a brief moment, the two of them stared at each other, as if they were asking for the other to make a move first._

_"Um… Chase," Bren said, cutting through the tension, "Maybe we ought to just wait for a bit. I mean, Jack did tell us a bit about those rogue monsuno and what the Hand was up to."_

_"What did he say?" Jinja asked, standing up when she saw that Beyal was able to stay up straight._

_"Apparently, Master Ey had found out about what the Hand was planning on doing," Dax said, walking over thought quite not taking his eyes off Chase, "He wasn't specific, but mentioned the Five Tribes and powerful monsuno from when monsuno energy was first released."_

_"The Original monsuno, I take it?" Jinja asked. Dax was a bit surprised by her quick response, but nodded anyway._

_"I guess what that monsuno was saying is true," Bren said, casting a glance to Beyal, "The Hand is planning on harnessing the energy of the original monsuno, but if we can go to the location up North before they capture the last two-"_

_"Then we should be able to stop them," Chase said, popping into the conversation. He was looking ahead instead of facing towards the rest of them, only wanting to listen. When he did turn to them, there was something in his eyes that left Bren feeling tense, "Where are these other two monsuno? Maybe we could fight the Hand when they go after them."_

_Bren blinked, then started tapping away on the Core Tablet, "Uh… Not really sure where the last one is. But we kind of have one with us…?"_

_"Besides, didn't you just hear him? We don't have to go after the monsuno," Dax said to Chase, "If anything, you should be happy we're going up North."_

_"Wait. Why would Chase be happy about that?" Jinja asked, looking between them both. Chase suddenly looked away, a bit guiltily. Dax couldn't help but scoff at the response._

_"Last night Chase wanted to run off to some cave without us," he said, digging his hands into his pockets, "Thought he could do it on his own, I suppose."_

_Both Bren and Jinja were silent, and looked to Chase. The two of them had always been with him since the whole monsuno ordeal had started, and never had they fought or separated for as long as they've known each other. Bren looked down, remembering the one instance that Chase had left them all to go off on his own. Maybe that's when this all started..._

_Maybe… They were all just drifting apart._

_"That's not true."_

_Bren looked up to see Chase speaking to the rest of them, though his gaze was still lowered, "I… This is something that I need to do, but I … None of you can get more involved then you already are."_

_"Chase, you're talking nonsense," Jinja said bitterly, "We've been involved ever since your father disappeared and you asked us to help you find him."_

_"And there's no way were leaving now!" Bren added. Chase looked to the two of them, eyes loosing their anger from before. He __sighed, shoulders sagging in defeat. Even the air seemed to calm down as he hopped of and called Evo back to its core._

_"… Alright."_

…..

They had dressed their wounds the best they could but hadn't discussed their next course of action. They had the location to whatever those ruins are (and where the monsuno wanted them to go. Even thought Bren still had trouble believing that one). But the real question was, should they go? If they did, what was up there? Bren glanced to the other side of the room, guessing that was what Beyal was trying to find out at the moment.

"So what should we do now?" he asked, turning to Jinja. She was looking down to her hands, then frowned.

"How should I know?" she snapped, "let's just wait until tomorrow to decide. It's been a long day, we can afford a few hours of rest."

Chase suddenly walked out the room, closing the door gently behind him when he past by the rest of them. They didn't say anything, even when he glanced back for a second. It was only after a minute of silence did Jinja decide to say something.

"Dax," she said, turning to the other, "Go… Watch him."

The two of them stared at each other for a moment before Dax scoffed, not moving from the wall. Jinja gave him an annoyed look, "Bren? could you go?"

"Eh? Why can't you go it?" Bren asked. Jinja looked to the fire, eyes downcast. Bren blinked, but didn't want to push it, and instead got up to follow Chase. He could tell something was up with the others but didn't want to pressure too much. The last thing they needed was to fight more.

Bren stepped out of the inn, taking a breath of the cool desert air. The moon was out, though there were still clouds in the sky. The wind had died down, and the street ahead gave a clear view of the oasis in the village. Chase was a few strides ahead, already going towards the shore.

"Hey Chase!" Bren shouted after the other teen. Chase didn't turn back even with Bren calling to him. Taking a breath, Bren ran after him. He trailed behind by a few steps until Chase reached the shore, water lapping close to his other merely stood there, gazing out to the water as it was still, moonlight reflecting softly on the surface. Bren admired it for a moment as he walked up next to Chase. They both stood there silently, though Bren couldn't tell if the other was paying any attention to him. So instead of announcing his presence, Bren stood there, looking outward.

"… Bren," Chase finally said, gazing down at the moon's reflection against the water surface, "… Do you… Would you do anything for someone you cared about?"

The brown-haired teen raised a brow, "Huh? Um.. Of course. Especially for you and Jinja."

He wanted to include Beyal and Dax, but Bren, Jinja, and Chase shared a bond that couldn't be misplaced. And if anything, it had strengthened since the monsuno ordeal started. But thinking about recent events left Bren reevaluating things (not that he was about to say that to Chase).

"… Why do you ask?" Bren pipped up. Chase's gaze dropped, and he unclipped a core from his belt, gazing down at it. Bren recognized it as Locke's core.

"I saw her. My mother," Chase said, still looking down, "I even got to speak to her, and she knows what the hand is planing. She's the reason I've been wanting to go North this whole time."

"Does that mean she knew about the original monsuno?" Bren asked. The black-haired teen let out a sigh, putting the core back.

"Can't say. The last time we talked for a long time, the Hand showed up. All the other times she kept giving me orders rather then explain things…" Chase said bitterly, slowly slumping to the ground. He brought up his knees to his chest, looking up towards the sky. Bren sat next to him, the Core Tablet still in his hands.

"i don't really get all this spirit talking or vision stuff, but you remember the last time she did that, right? When Beyal lost his soul and we had to run around in the mountains for a few hours?"

"Yeah… So?"

"Well… There's go to be a reason that the visions aren't as strong when your not concentrating. Especially if the Hand had intercepted," Bren said, then shrugged, "To be fair, I think Beyal's in there trying to find the answers to all this."

"But we don't have time for this B, especially if the Hand has gotten a hold of some of the original monsuno already. She needs me…"

Chase's hands clenched into fists when he spoke, shaking a bit. Bren could see how distraught he was whenever the topic of his family came up, especially after learning that his mother was still alive. He let out a sigh. Bren couldn't really remember much of Mrs. Suno when growing up with Chase, but did know that his best friend was devastated when she supposedly passed away.

"Is that why you've been acting so weird lately?" Bren asked.

"What do you mean?"

Bren let out a sigh, "Well. As much as I hate to admit it, Dax did bring up a good point earlier. You have been ignoring everyone else a lot lately."

"… Have I?" Chase asked blankly. Bren could tell that the other was a bit oblivious to that fact. He let out a sigh, seeing where Jinja and Dax were getting their frustration from.

Suddenly, there was a beeping, and Bren looked down to see a message from Dr. Suno. It was probably a response from earlier, which may or may not be good news.

"Hey, Chase," Bren said. The other looked over with sullen eyes, "Um… It's from your dad."

Chase raised a brow, but took the tablet, opening the message. His eyes glossed lazily along as he muttered message under his breath. Slowly, his eyes got larger the more he read. When he got to the end, he read it again.

"Bren. We have to leave tonight," Chase said. Before Bren could respond, an explosion resounded behind them, shaking the ground a bit. The two of them immediately looked back to see that it had come from the direction of the inn, jumping to their feet as they did.

"Argh! Why can't we have one night of peace!" Bren groaned. Chase threw him the tablet and shot of in that direction.

HLP

The explosion caught the two of them off guard, and yet Chase could feel the exhilaration flowing through him as he ran forward. He still wanted to talk a bit more about what Bren meant about him 'acting weird', but obviously it would have to wait.

'Is it the rogue monsuno attacking? Or S.T.O.R.M.? Or the Hand?' he thought, trying to think if anyone had known which direction he went when they left the base. When the two of them got sight of the inn, dust was in the air, and looked like the back had been caved in by something. Charging through the door, Chase ran to the back room he had last seen the others.

"Jinja! Dax! Beyal!" he exclaimed as he flung the door open. To his surprise, he was met with the sight of a large red monsuno standing in the caved in portion of the building, though it was more preoccupied with destroying the rest of the building. Bren was soon at his side panting, and caught sight of the others on the other side of the room.

"Wait. What are _they_ doing here?" he asked, seeing two other figures in the room as well. Chase let out a gasp, seeing a tall man with wild black hair and an short, older man. Jinja was currently being restrained by the mechanical arms that were on the older man's back, thrashing about as she did. Dax was lying on side, most likely knocked down by the force of the explosion. The man with the crazied look laughed as he stalked over.

"Oh my, little mouseys! I bet you weren't expecting a reunion with us so soon!" he said, crouching down next to Dax, who did not respond. Chase could tell that the two hadn't noticed that he and Bren had shown up, so he immediately grabbed a core and silently signaling Bren be silent.

"Knock it off already you psychopath," the butler sighed, hardly paying attention to Jinja as she continued to tug at her restraints, "You know Suno is on the priority list."

Dom Pyro let out an exaggerated sigh, "Yes, yes, I _do_ know. But that doesn't mean we can't have a little fun while we're-"

He stopped, and Chase noticed that there was a sudden look of surprise on the mercenary's face. It quickly turned into a smirk.

"Oh! It's the little white-haired mousey that went and made a fool of me the other night!" Dom Pyro said. Chase followed his line of sight, and saw that Beyal was somehow still meditating on the other side of the room, completely unaware of what was going on.

"Aren't you a fool all the time?" Hargrave snickered a bit.

"Shut up, old man!" the crazed man barked, then started stalking over to Beyal.

"Not so fast!"

Everyone quickly turned towards the doorway that Chase and Bren stood.

"Babeon, Launch!"

Wasting no time, Chase spun out a core, letting his monsuno crash into the red beast out of the room and into the alleyway. However, he kept his eyes on the rest of the group that was still in the room. Dom Pyro let out a chuckle at the sight of the other two.

"See! No worries old man!" Dom Pyro said, then turned to his monsuno, "Dragonburn, lightening flame!"

"Babeon, clammering claw!"

More dust flew into the space as the two monsuno roared and clashed with each other. Chase coughed, trying to look around to see where everyone else was. After a few seconds, it had cleared, though no one had really moved.

"Why hello Chase Suno," Hargrave said politely. His mechanical arms immediately flung Jinja over to where Dax was, making her fall against some of the destroyed furniture, "I believe that Dr. Klipse would like to meet with you."

"Tell him to see me in person. I don't take messages," Chase said, slowly edging towards Jinja and Dax. Bren hadn't moved from the doorway, and Dom was actually hesitant about going towards Beyal. As if he might jump up and attack the other at any second.

"What is it that Klipse wants anyway?" Chase asked. The butler smirked.

"How about you call back your monsuno, and we'll talk about this like civilized people," he said, leering at Dom Pyro, "_all _of the monsuno."

The other man grumbled under his breath at the tone, but called back the red monsuno anyway. Chances were, he was hired by Klipse for a specific reason, otherwise he would've been tearing them all to shreds. Chase followed suit, holding out his core towards the alley.

"Return."

The cores clicked as the monsuno went back inside. Hargrave clapped his hands together with a sigh, "Now. Why don't we sit down and discuss things properly."

Jinja scoffed, standing back up, "that's funny, seeing that the two of you blew a giant hole in the wall just to 'talk'."

The old man frowned at her, but didn't respond. Chase looked over to see Dax also getting up, though a bit slowly. Chase turned back to the butler, "So? What is it that Klipse wants?"

"Well. He said to offer you two options," Hargrave said, a dark smile appearing as one of the arms extended out an envelope. The red signature seal of Exlipse on the back, "You can either go to that location in here. Or, the two of us will _drag_ you there."

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A/N: Review Review Review!


	36. Chapter 36

A/N: Thanks to ChasexJinjaForever and guost for the reviews. Enjoy!

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The sensation of falling asleep was similar to how he fell into his meditative state. Everything else and everyone else faded away into the background (though it was hard to tell at first since everyone was so quiet). It was almost like drifting deeper into water, his senses becoming more muffled.

Slowly, he opened his eyes, realizing he wasn't in the Tibet mountains like before. The monk looked around, having some trouble moving. It was then that he could see how much the place mimicked the sea. He glanced upward, faint blue light trickling down. Below, it was a dark, endless abyss. It didn't even seem like he was standing on solid ground, merely floating.

"Beyal."

He turned around, struggling a bit as he did so. He was surprised to see the woman in white again, her own clothes fluttering against the calmness.A faint glow surrounded her, illuminating the darkness around them.

"... Mrs. Suno...?" Beyal asked. For some reason, he found it hard to speak here. The words barely forming on his lips. She smiled gently to him before speaking.

"I take it you have questions about the Original monsuno," she said bluntly, "you'll have to be quick. The last time I spoke to Chase, the Hand almost got wind of what I told him."

Beyal was a bit hesitant towards asking her things. He faintly remembered the last time they had spoken back in the base, he ended up being possessed by the monsuno. He could remember some of the things that it had said to Bren and Jinja, but it was more like a dream if anything. He knew that they had to stop the Hand of Destiny, and that it had to do with the ruins on the picture from before, but that was about it.

"Um... a few. But... where are we?" he asked, looking around. It was strange to get visions that were so clear and lifelike, and this was no exception.

"This is where you will find guidance. Although, it is mostly within your own mind. Like a dream really," she said with a gentle smile. For some reason that explanation wasn't as strange as it should've been. Beyal couldn't help but wonder if the last time he had a vision with Ms. Suno, it was also a dream.

"So are you even here? And where is the monsuno from before?" He asked. The woman gave a sigh, and looked off to the side, as if there were something in the distance that she could see.

"I am able to speak to you through the monsuno sight, but we must make haste or the Hand will know that I am trying to warn you." She turned back to face him, "And as for the monsuno, I imagine that it has now retreated back into your mind, or rather your soul. If it stays in control for much longer, it could become... dangerous."

Beyal's gaze fell, but he shook the feeling away and looked up.

"... What... What's up north?" he finally asked, "those ruins... What are they?"

"The Hand is after the Original monsuno's energy. By releasing them into this world, they have released powerful amounts of monsuno essence. The cavern up north is where this all started," she explained, "There are ruins there of when the Original five tribes had created the seals. It is there that they had made the pacts with the five original monsuno, and where you and the others can recreate those seals in order to stop the Hand. If you can get at least one of the remaining original monsuno to remake the seals, then the energy should stabilize."

"Would it be that simple?"

"I'm afraid not. At least with Chase in his current state," she said, wrapping her arms around herself.

"... What do you mean?"

"The Hand has twisted his feelings, turning them into something more... Obsessive. I fear that they have poisoned his mind in the same way as before. You remember when the two of you were trapped in a nightmare? I imagine it is something similar. Except..."

"Except?"

"Someone is still holding onto Chase's mind. They're probably influencing his actions even now, ever since you came in contact with them the other day."

Her expression fell, and she placed a hand gently to her chest in thought. Beyal raised a brow in confusion. He thought for a moment, and then remembered the hooded group from before.

"Are you talking about the people from the cave. And the shapeshifter from the base?" Beyal asked. She nodded, "Who... are they exactly?"

The woman let out a sigh, "they are a lesser known part of the Hand. Or rather, what happens to the people the Hand uses for monsuno sight."

Beyal let out a small gasp. There was shift in energy (or was it water?) and the woman in white looked up with a serious look.

"They are most likely the ones who are trying to poison Chase's mind as we speak. It's possible that if you can break their hold on him, then he should return to normal. But if you were to confront them... They may try to rip the monsuno away from your soul."

Beyal was silent, looking down at the darkness below the two of them, trying to work things in his mind. For some reason, it was getting more unclear as he stayed in this place. Still, he pressed on, knowing that there wouldn't be much time left to speak to the woman on their new enemy.

"What are they? How are they able to turn into other people?"

The woman sighed, looking up to the light shining above them, "They... are human, though barely at that. They had lost their humanity long ago after the Hand had taken their monsuno sight. Much like myself, they were taken by the Hand of Destiny in an attempt to harness monsuno sight. Except..."

"Except?"

"A few years back, the Hand found that some of the people were rendered useless after their sight was taken. That led to them being used as test subjects for how to create the shapeshifter monsuno, especially since monsuno essence couldn't be harnessed like it is now."

"... Could you... Could you tell me more?"

She looked to him with a weary look. There was a hesitance, if only because there was the chance that the Hand would show up at any moment. In the end, she nodded, and started to retell what she knew about the four from the cave.

HLP

Chase stared down the old man, as if waiting for a challenge to fight. Hargrave half wished for the boy to go ahead and give them a fight, if only because he wanted to blow off some steam for being left with Dom Pyro for so long. The teen, however, took the envelope, and opened it cautiously.

"What's it say?" the red-haired girl said, sliding up to Chase's side. He was silent, then frantically stared looking through the letter.

"What is this?" he demanded. The butler shrugged. After all, it wasn't like Klipse ever told him about the deliveries he was making. This angered the teen, and he ripped it apart.

"W-wait! Chase!" the boy with glasses said, getting up.

"What's wrong? What did it say?" Jinja asked. Chase frowned, still staring down the old man. Finally, he forced himself to turn to the rest of his friends.

"Klipse says he knows where the Hand is going to be tonight," he said, not caring that Hargrave and Dom Pyro were still present, "They're going to the cave up north. He thinks its a trap."

"Wait. How does he know? And how does the Hand know about the cave?" Bren asked.

"Yeah. It seems like a bluff to me, Suno," Dax said, arms crossed. Chase looked to the ground, most likely trying to think things through. He glanced back towards the white-haired boy, who was still sitting silently on the bed towards the back.

"... But if that monsuno in Beyal was telling the truth about what the Hand is after, it makes sense that they would be there," Chase said,

"If it helps your decision," Hargrave interjected, "Dr. Klipse is currently up north as we speak. If what he claims is having to do with something in that direction, it makes sense that he would be there."

Chase gave him a somewhat surprised look. Hargrave inwardly chuckled at how easily swayed these children were. Of course he wasn't lying either, which could only mean that Dr. Klipse was the one trying to lay a trap. Although...

The butler looked over to the boy who was silently sitting towards the back, Dom Pyro eyeing him cautiously. It seems that someone else was also aiming to get Chase and his group to go up north. Did that mean Dr. Klipse wasn't lying?

"... You can't be seriously thinking of going Chase!" Bren said. Chase was looking to the ground, and shook his slowly.

"I can't just ignore this, B. Klipse said that my mother might be with them," he said, only to get small gasps from the rest of the teens. Dax was the first to interject.

"There's no way-"

"He said 'a woman with long brown hair and teal eyes.' I may not have been with her for long, but I do remember what my own mother would look like," Chase said fiercely.

"Now your just sounding like the other brat," Dom Pyro mumbled, flinching a bit when the white-haired boy shifted a bit. The others stared blankly at him before Chase charged up to the man.

"What do you mean? Who said that?" he demanded. A sly grin appeared on the crazed man's face.

"Oh? Your interested in that woman that Six saw? I guess the boy wasn't mad after all," he chuckled. Hargrave couldn't help but sigh, knowing that he was just trying to stir up drama. He turned to the exit, casting a glance to Dom Pyro.

"Let's go you psycho. We're done here," he said over his shoulder, and started walking towards the door. He stopped shortly before reaching it, however.

"Oh and by the way," he said, then looked over to Dax. The man pulled out a second envelope, and extended it out to the boy with one of the mechanical arms. The teen was hesitant towards taking it, so Hargrave dropped it at his feet, "Klipse thanks you again for that bit of information on Dr. Suno. He hopes you find what you're looking for, and to keep in touch in the future!"

With that he left, not bothering to wait for the other man or for the small group's reaction to his revelation. He was fed up with the crazy man's actions. And since their job was completed, that meant they were done working together (at least for the moment).

As soon as he stepped out of the building, Hargrave could hear the other man follow behind, growling under his breath.

"Why can't we just smash them around for a little while? It's not like Klipse needs them all in one piece. Especially that white-haired rat-"

"Klipse said to deliver that final bit of information, and that's what we did," the butler said, walking down the darkened street, chuckling a bit to himself, "And judging by their reactions, they will probably be on their way tonight."

"But if they don't, then that means we can crush them!"

Hargrave gave a side-ways glance, "You seem to underestimate the power of persuasion, as usual. It's a bit of a gift that Klipse has."

He looked forward again as they continued walking. And even if the small group of teen's didn't go to find Klipse, they would be back for them. Still, the old man didn't have time for this, especially if there was a reason that his monsuno was able to be called out. At least at the moment.

HLP

The teens didn't know how to respond to the two men leaving. Dax was staring down at the envelope at his feet, anxious about what it could possibly be. It was only after a minute did he realize that all eyes were on him now.

"So what's that?" Chase asked, eyes narrowing. Dax growled under his breath, reaching for the envelope that Hargrave dropped. Jinja, however, was quicker, and snatched it out of his grasp. He frowned at her.

"Hand it over Princess," he said, holding a hand out. She ignored him, looking down at the back, as if to open it. He knew she wouldn't, but still.

"Let me see it Jin," Chase said, walking up to her side. She, however, held it out of his reach. Chase gave a surprised look, "C'mon Jin. Let me see!"

"No," she huffed, pocketing the envelope into her jacket. Dax relaxed a bit, knowing that at least the others wouldn't immediately know.

"So what's the deal, Dax?" Bren asked, sitting down on a bed with his arms crossed, "I thought you were done with the whole 'playing all sides' thing."

"I am!" Dax said, then shuffled a bit, "Well... There's something I have- look. It's none of your business so let's just back on topic of what our next course of action is."

Bren and Jinja exchanged looks, while Chase continued to glare at him.

"…Well? Didn't you want to go north, Suno?" Dax asked. Chase raised a brow suspiciously.

"Yeah. But now I'm not so sure. Especially if Klipse is going to be there," he responded cooly. Dax growled under his breath at how fickle the other was being, and stalked off to the door.

"W-wait! Dax-"

"No. Go ahead and look if ya'll want," the lowlander said, not bothering to turn around as he gripped the doorknob,"I could care less at this point."

Slamming the door behind himself, Dax stuffed his hands into his pockets as he stalked off towards the oasis. He wasn't ashamed of trying to find out where is mother could be. But he'd be damned if Chase tried to make it a bad thing. Especially after they had been running around for their leader's parents before.

He stopped when he reached the shore, ripples forming on the surface from the slight breeze. But maybe it was a lost cause to try and look for her. There was no possibility that she was even still alive, even with the photographs that Klipse gave. And was it really alright for them to go north? Especially now that many of their enemies were possibly going to be there?

There was a buzz, and he looked down to see Airswitch stirring in its core. He held it up, noticing that the light inside wasn't as brilliant as before. If anything, it was now just a dull glow.

"… Maybe we should go," he said to himself, knowing that the problems around their monsuno and the monsuno essence could be solved if they go (at least if that monsuno was telling the truth).

".. Also," he said, then turned to look to some of the shadows of the buildings, "You really have to stop trying to sneak up on me, princess."

Sheepishly, Jinja stepped out, then envelope in her hands. She got her nerve back, and walked over.

"Here," she said, holding it out. He raised a brow, "… Well? Take it."

He looked down at it, then looked back to the water.

"… I don't want it."

When she didn't say anything, Dax looked back to see the red-haired girl with a confused face.

"So what, you made some sort of side deal with Klipse and decide to back out now that we know?" she asked, putting a hand on her hip, "There's really no need for you to be so secretive all the time."

"Like your one to talk," Dax scoffed. Jinja's face was blank for a moment before her cheeks became flushed, most likely remembering the other night. Angrily she shoved the envelope at him.

"Just take it!"

"I don't _want_ it."

"Take it!"

Frustrated, Dax slapped her hand away harshly. There was a shocked look on her face for a brief moment as they both watched it flutter into the water lapping at their feet. He turned away with a sigh.

"… It's really nothing," he said, kicking at the sand.

"Fine," Jinja said, throwing her hands up," don't tell me. It's obvious that you _really _don't care. Just know that if there's the chance that this is a trap laid out by Klipse, I'll never forgive you."

She turned on her heels, and started walking away furiously. Dax balled his hands into fists. He was going to regret this.

"It was a picture."

The footsteps stopped, and he was sure that she had heard. Instead of turned around, he continued.

"If I gave some information from Dr. Suno's research on how to restore Jon Ace, Klipse was going to give me information on… my parents."

He wasn't even sure if the information was useful either, especially with the records varying time-wise. Still, it was clear that the it was at least worth looking into. He could hear her shuffling towards him slowly, so at least she hadn't run off immediately.

"So you're still the same old con artist like before, right?" Jinja said bluntly.

"I've only been giving them little bits so far, hardly anything to work with really," Dax said honestly "And some of the information has more to do with random coding that has nothing to do with monsuno energy. It was mostly random things I found on the Core-Tablet that I nabbed when Bren wasn't looking."

That much was true, even if none of them were going to believe him. But in the end, was it really worth getting faulty information from Klipse if it meant betraying the trust he built up? Especially now with tensions with Chase being so high, Dax hardly thought so as he looked out beyond the oasis and into the desert.

A pair of arms wrapped around his waist from behind, and made him jump a little.

"No… It was worth it," Jinja said, a bit gently. Dax flinched, realizing he spoke that last bit under his breath without realizing it.

"You and Chase… Your both similar in that way," she said, "You both care about those closest. Except Chase is more open about it ever since his father went missing."

He raised a brow, and Dax suddenly remembered all the times he and Dr. Suno would share casual talk with each other when the latter was on the run. Dr. Suno had a way of always bringing the conversation back to his son and how much of a good boy he was interesting to say the least to get to know Chase without ever meeting him.

"I suppose he has rubbed off on me a little," Dax muttered under his breath in a joking manner. He chuckled even more and looked over his shoulder, "Didn't peg you to be the motherly type to notice that about him, princess."

Jinja let out a groan, "Savory this moment. With that attitude, you won't be getting another hug from me anytime soon."

Savory the moment, huh? Dax couldn't help but think back to the night before when they had… He shook his head a little. It probably wasn't worth thinking too much into…

At least that's what he thought last night.

"By the way," he started, "What was up with yesterday-"

Footsteps could be heard coming towards the two of them, and Jinja immediately let go. They both saw Bren huffing along as he ran down to the two of them.

"What is it Bren?" Jinja asked, a bit annoyed.

"Beyal woke up… He says we have to go… now…" Bren wheezed. He really need to get into better shape. One would image he would be after all the traveling they had done (at least that's what Dax thought). Jinja let out a gasp, and started to follow after Bren. There was a slight hesitation in her step as she looked back to Dax.

"I'll catch up. Give me a sec," he said, smirking a little. He turned back to gaze out at the water, digging his hands into his pockets as the other two ran off to the inn. He could see the envelope from before drifting far into the middle of the water at this point, most likely useless.

"Oh well," he said, "The information was probably just as outdated as the last. But at least I still have-"

He stopped, freezing as a moment of realization hit him. He felt around in his pockets for a second, then frantically started searching his jacket for that familiar image that he had just gotten.

"… Damn," he cursed under his breath, "Must've lost it in the base…"

* * *

A/N: Review Review Review!


	37. Chapter 37

A/N: Thanks to ChasexJinjaForever and KaimelartheDreamer for the reviews. I'm really sad now that I rewatched a few of the episodes and noticed continuity errors. Oh well, this is supposed to be somewhat AU.

Also apologies for getting this here late. Things have been hectic and I had no idea where to start this chapter.

Enjoy!

* * *

It was well into the night when the Strike Squad had stopped in the middle of the desert. They were all tired from walking for the whole night, as well as from the earlier battle that they had with the rogue monsuno.

"How much longer are we going to follow that thing, Alpha?" Bravo complained as he and X-Ray sat back on the ground when they all circled together.

"I'm not sure," Alpha answered honestly, also slowly sitting, "I guess we should try and contact the base or Charlmange to see if they captured the rogue monsuno that went that way."

Kilo, who was still standing with Tango, pulled out a communicator and tapped a few buttons. They were all silent as he tried to get a signal. Alpha looked over to the wolf monsuno that had led them there. It was sitting a few feet away, staring out into the direction that they were heading longingly. The red-haired teen felt a pull as he watched it glow faintly in the dark night. Strange. He always seemed to have this feeling when he so much as looked at it. The feeling was almost familiar...

"… Damn."

Alpha looked back to see Kilo pocketing his communicator, "… No signal still."

"Still?" Tango said surprised, crossing her arms, "That's a bit long don't you think?"

"I think it has something to do with the waves of monsuno energy that have been springing up all week," X-Ray said as he pulled out a laptop. He tapped away, bring up all types of graphs and data, "It's starting to get more violent in some regions, and I doubt it's going to stop anytime soon."

Silence fell over the group as they thought over the past few hours, between finding Suno and meeting up with the rogue monsuno. It was never a coincidence of things happening when Suno is around…

"Do you think… That those monsuno could have something to do with it?" Bravo asked, looking over at the wolf monsuno as he spoke. The rest of them followed suit, watching as the beast didn't budge from its spot.

"I couldn't see why not," Tango said, shrugging her shoulders, "That isn't a regular monsuno, that's for sure."

"That's true. It's a lot bigger then ours, and it doesn't have a color to it either," Kilo said. Tango let out a huff.

"That's not what I meant," she said. Bravo and Kilo raised a brow at her. Their leader, however, was silent. He could tell there was something extremely different about this monsuno, and not just in appearance. The essence that flowed through that monsuno… It was stronger then what they've seen, and Alpha couldn't help but think how strange it was that he could tell.

"Well… Anyway," X-Ray said, clearing his throat a bit, "we need to figure out what to do next. Alpha?"

"Huh? Oh. Um…" he thought for a moment, before standing up. They had a few options at this point on what they could do. Go back to the base, try and contact S.T.O.R.M., follow the monsuno...

Suddenly, the white beast stood, making them all jump a bit. It was growling lowly, much like it had before when the other rogue monsuno had shown up. The Strike Squad also got to their feet, trying to see if there was anything around that posed a threat. Alpha gripped onto Tripwire's core, but stopped just as his fingers brushed against the metal.

It was cold. No. Not cold. _Freezing._

Not caring as his finger stung, he quickly unhooked it from his belt, looking down at it in the moonlight. The yellow gleam that shined brightly before was now fading. It almost looked… Sad.

"Alpha!"

He looked up in time to see the white monsuno charging at them. Before any of them could react, it pounced on top of all of them. The red-haired teen let out a gasp as the breath was knocked out of him.

"What's the big idea you hulking beast?!" Bravo exclaimed as they all lied underneath its belly. It huffed at them, lowering its head a bit as if to cover them.

"Ugh. You think it's gonna eat us now?" X-Ray stammered a bit. Something caught Alphas's gaze from the corner of his eye, and he could see something coming towards them.

"Shh! Quiet everyone," he said, silencing his panicking teammates. They all followed his gaze, and gasped when they saw the monsuno from before. They were in the distance somewhat, and seemed to be scoping out the area. Strangely, they vanished after a few minutes.

"… Well? What is it Alpha?" Kilo asked.

"It was those monsuno from before," Alpha said, still staring at where he saw them last.

"Are they gone? What were they after?" X-Ray asked.

"It's obvious they're after something or someone," Bravo said, "Maybe that's why they went to the base-"

"Wait! There's someone else over there," Alpha said. He tried to crawl out from under the monsuno, but it growled as he moved. He stopped after a few moments, and looked back towards the desert. It was hard to tell, but he could make out four figures walking in the same direction that the monsuno were heading.

"Agh. It's too dark to see them," he cursed under his breath.

"What is it Alpha?" Kilo asked quietly.

"There were four people following those monsuno that we fought earlier," he whispered, "No doubt they're up to no good."

He let out a sigh of frustration, knowing they wouldn't even be able to handle those people if they were in command of such strong monsuno. It took all of their effort earlier to just stand their ground, and even then it was the rogue monsuno that decided to leave the fight. If they tried to take them on again...

He turned back to the rest of them to give them the all clear and that they should head back, but then noticed Tango was staring up at the monsuno. Slowly, she reached up, knotting her fingers in its fur. The rest of them watched wide-eyed as she gently stroked it.

"Um… Tango?" Bravo said, a bit quietly. She frowned, closing her eyes for a brief second before turning to Alpha.

"Whoever those people were," she said," we have to follow them."

The other four didn't respond. Even the monsuno stiffed a bit as if it understood what she said.

"Are you _nuts_?" Bravo whispered fiercely, "You know what will happen if we try taking them on again."

She bit her lip, but shook her head.

"No," she said firmly, "There's something going on around here, and the rogue monsuno have something to do with it."

The rest of them started to argue with her, but Alpha thought for a moment. The first time he saw those monsuno were when he and Chase battled in the desert...

He let out a gasp of realization. Of course. _Suno._

"She's right guys," he said, only to have the rest of them turn to him with shocked faces, "Suno was here, which means that it was no coincidence that these monsuno have important significance."

The monsuno eased off them a bit. They all scrambled out from under it, though Alpha gazed at it for a few seconds longer, looking into its eyes as the breeze picked up a little. There was a reason that it was leading them somewhere. Somewhere important...

Tango came up next to him, giving him a determined smile. The rest of them followed suit, though didn't seem as sure of themselves. Alpha smirked a bit.

"Alright," he said, then looked up to the monsuno," Lead the way."

It understood, and knelt down for them to climb on. When they were all settled, it took off. Those people were nowhere in sight, but Alpha could tell the monsuno wasn't going to just lead the Strike Squad to them.

It was also leading them to Chase.

HLP

_Ten years ago._

_..._

_Dark_

_It was always so dark._

_The five from the Hand of Destiny always worked in the shadows in case they should be found. Almost as if they didn't even need it anymore. Of course their victims would also slowly adapt to the dim caverns that they were kept in as well. Even if they were forced into long sessions of using their monsuno sight only to pass out from over exertion. Two people entered the room, silently walking over towards the center of the room._

_"We're running out of monsuno sight __carriers, Petros," a man with light brown hair said to the other as they approached the holding cells. The other man, who had dark hair and red marks under his eyes, looked through the bars briefly before turning to face the other._

_"I understand, Alister," he said, "but we still need to complete our research on the shapeshifter cores, especially now that Core Tech has started perfecting the method of reshaping monsuno essence with existing DNA."_

_The man, Alister, gave a sigh, "It won't be easy competing with them if we can't even sustain ourselves. Especially if we don't get more users of monsuno sight.__"_

_The two looked over into the cell again, somewhat in disgust._

_"I suppose you are right. Considering how much technology we would need to even think about starting the project again," Petros said._

_"You're forgetting something," a voice joined in. The two of them turned to see two others approaching them. A woman with long dark hair and green marks under her eyes, and an older man with graying hair._

_"What would that be, Christoph?" Petros asked._

_"We still have the previous users of monsuno sight that weren't completely used up," the older man said, "After all. Ehna was a very successful candidate that led to the breakthrough with the shapeshifter research."_

_"But he was an exception," Petros interrupted, "Remember the second one that we tried to experiment on? Immediate cell deconstruction because of the mixture of pure monsuno energy and the human body. And Ehna was an accident that became a blessing. We were lucky with that one."_

_The woman, Terz, sighed and glanced into the cell, "And yet, we have plenty of expendable subjects at our disposal. We have nothing to lose with them."_

_Petros looked inside as well, and debated for a second. There were a few of the monsuno sight users inside, though there were only a handful that would be useful. If they managed to perfect their shapshifter research, then perhaps they could harness more monsuno energy in the future._

_"… Very well," Petros said._

_Petros strode over to the holding cell, and wretched the door open. A few of the people that were conscious cowered away __as he glowered inside. He gazed over them all, till finally he picked one of the people. He hauled them up wordlessly, closing the door behind him as they all trailed off into another room._

_..._

_The smoke cleared the room, and the five were circled around a figure in the room. The person was sprawled out on the ground, still in the hooded cloak that was thrown on them before the five started their experimentation._

_"… Did we succeed?" Sasha asked as the person didn't move. Petros cursed under his breath, thinking that they had failed once again. After a minute, the person on the ground stirred. They all held their breath, and finally, the person sat up slowly._

_"… We… We did it…" Terz said a bit astounded._

_"I'm not so sure about that," Christoph said. Petros walked over to the person, kneeling down to their level so he could peek under their hood. He let out a gasp then cursed loudly as he quickly stood up._

_"What? What's wrong?" Alister asked. Petros stalked angrily out of the room, not bothering to say anything to the others. The four stood dumbly before trailing after him. _

_"Wait, Petros," Terz said as they re-entered the main room with the giant pool of water in the middle, not bothering to check on the person they had just experimented on. Petros continued to walk until he reached the holding cell again. He stopped at the door before turning to the rest of them._

_"Useless," he said, "we held back on our energy and how much to expose subject 3 to… That one is useless to us as they are."_

_Petros threw the door open and glanced quickly over the ones who were still inside since the last time. Most of them at this point were unconscious, and he finally settled on one of the smaller figures._

_"You," he said, seizing their arms and wrenching them upward, not caring if they were awake, "You're going to be number four."_

_He dragged the smaller to the door, but stopped when he caught sight of one of the older users that they had recently acquired. If he remembered right, she was the wife of a researcher at Core Tech… Suno? Was that her name? She had a powerful monsuno sight, and would be useful for the future. But maybe..._

_"Christoph," Petros said, "Grab her as well."_

_…_

_Smoke cleared from the room for a second time that day. All five felt exhausted, nearly collapsing in the middle of the experiment. Petros didn't hesitate to check on the test subject, who was sprawled out in front of them. The five gathered closer, looking down silently as their leader inspected their subject. The person's hand finally twitched, and Petros let out a chuckle._

_"… Success!" he exclaimed. Even though they started their experimentation immediately, they amped up the amount of monsuno essence they would use. Somehow, the subject had managed to stay alive, though it was probably because of the researcher's wife, who was lying a few feet away unconscious. The one in the middle started to stir a bit, and Terz threw a cloak down at them._

_"From now on, you are Tesserah."_

_..._

_The five were looking into the pool of water, watching over the rest of the world. It had been a few months since the last time they had experimented on a subject, so far only having three still alive. One of which was useless at the moment..._

_"… What's on your mind, Petros?" Christoph asked as the image of a research base came into view inside the pool. They watch for a moment as a man with black hair and a scientist jacket looked over different vials of green energy. He had been working for the past hour, and seemed to be getting closer on a breakthrough. The man suddenly stopped when a small boy with black hair entered the room, a big smile on his face. The man smiled back, putting the vials down to scoop up his son. Petros, however, kept his eyes on the vials that had been set aside._

_"Core Tech is getting closer to finding the key to unlocking the power of monsuno energy…" the man said, "If we don't hurry, then we'll never get our hands on a new source of energy…"_

_"So what are you saying, Petros?" Alister asked._

_"...Let us try again."_

_..._

_Loud cursing resounded throughout the caves, followed by Petros stomping into the room with the others._

_"That's another one we've failed with!" he exclaimed, "We're supposed to be getting closer on finding out how to create shape shifters through monsuno energy! Not killing off our resources!"_

_"It was worth a try on a test subject that still retained a large amount of their monsuno sight, considering all the previous subjects had depleted most of their energy. Even if that means we get one user short," Alister said, crossing his arms, "We still have a lot more, including Ms. Suno."_

_"She's off limits," Sasha said, "she's already used up a lot of her energy on the fourth. And chances are she'll still be needed in the future with the strength she carries."_

_Petros stood silently, thinking other all their options. There was a good chance that they could get a hold of Core Tech's technology, and then use that to perfect their own technology..._

_"Everyone."_

_They all turned to the pool to see Terz standing by, looking inside._

_"I think I've found our solution," she said. They all came close and gasped at what they saw._

HLP

"The Five… Their experiments on users of monsuno sight eventually led to their breakthrough with shapeshifter monsuno," Ms. Suno finished, letting her gaze fall, "And ever since I have started helping Chase, the Hand has been getting desperate in how they could capture him and other sources of monsuno energy…"

She stayed silent as the white haired boy before her took in her story, both of them still floating within the strange dimension. It was hard to tell how long they had been there in terms of time in the real world, but if it meant helping Chase, then it didn't matter.

"So… What should we do now?" Beyal asked, "Should we go up North like what the monsuno said?"

"Yes. The cave leads to an underground lake where the ruins of the original seal lies. Although…"

"Although?"

Ms. Suno let out a sigh, "You cannot let Chase near that place if he's still under their influence. That would only bring ruin."

The monk raised a brow, "What do you mean?"

"They are trying to get him to release the energy that the seal has created. The outburst of energy is already affecting the world as it is, so I don't have to tell you what would happen if all of it were to be released."

Beyal looked down, pondering over her words. There was a shift in the energy around them when he looked up, "How… How are they going to make him do this?"

"One of the four that you have met has a special… talent," she said, eyes downcast, "they were the third, and have a special connection to the mind. They have most likely been manipulating Chase ever since I spoke to him within this realm. I wouldn't be surprised if they have been since they interacted with you that first day, just hinting to him about trying to find the cave."

Ms. Suno looked to the side for a minute.

"They probably only spoke as a voice, one that would be familiar for him," she said. Before the white-haired boy could ask more, the energy started to ripple violently around them. She let out a gasp when she felt a familiar cold chill run down her spine. _They_ found out.

"Hurry! You must leave!" She exclaimed, "They're trying to reach into this plane and get a hold of you mind like before. You can't let that happen!"

"B-but what about you?" the monk stammered as the energy started to become more violent, like crashing waves all around them, "Shouldn't you tell this Chase yourself?"

She smiled sadly at him, "I'm afraid Chase cannot trust anything I say right now. Not while _she_ also looks like me."

Before the white-haired boy could even respond, he was swept away from his spot and up towards the light. She smiled, feeling the darkness under them creeping upward as the Hand guided her away from the realm. Even if she were to stay with the Hand for all eternity, she would never let them have Chase.

* * *

A/N: Review Review Review!


	38. Chapter 38

A/N: Thanks to Wyvern-Socress-Myra, ChasexJinjaForever, and KaimelartheDreamer for the reviews. This chapter is mostly just wrapping up a few people's views before we head into the final chapters (something I was going to skip actually, but decided to go with anyway).

Enjoy!

* * *

He didn't mind being alone for so long. Spending the last day with Hargrave and Dom Pyro was exhausting at times, even for the clone. He still couldn't grasp feelings and emotions properly, but it was certainly getting easier.

"I wonder when father will get here," Six said out loud as he sat on the edge of one of the cavern entrances. He had spent the past few hours exploring the area, trying to figure out what it was about this place that was so strange. Eventually, he stopped at the top of a cave that led out over the lake, well over two stories above the ground.

He looked down at Demise's core in his hand, gazing at the faint light inside. The light was nearly gone now, though he could feel the essence still fighting inside. It was a peculiar feeling to know that something was wrong with your monsuno with no way of knowing what to do. Still he wasn't as worried as he should've been.

"Maybe father will be able to tell me what is wrong with you," Six said, leaning back against the cavern wall and gazing out to the lake again. The moonlight was now shining against the surface, and he couldn't help but think about how pretty it looked. There was a flash storm earlier that day, and some of the ceiling had chipped away because of it, so there was even more light coming in then when he first arrived.

There was an echo from within the cave, and Six immediately was on alert. He knew that if it wasn't his father, then he would attack, no matter who it was. After listening intently, he found that the voices weren't approaching him at all, and were somewhere else in the giant cavern. Six peeked out from the side, seeing that four people came out of another cave that was next to the shore of the lake.

_"I suppose that we'll just have to wait for them to show up_," one of them said, though it was hard to tell who the people were. Six tried to lean closer to see, but knew her wouldn't be able to because of the cloaks they wore. Two of the figures were smaller, one definitely on the feminine side. One had a larger build, and may even be an adult. The last however...

Six felt a chill when looking at the last. There was something about them that was just… off. Their presence was overwhelming, and just looking at them he could feel something radiating off them...

"_Suno'll definitely be here by tonight_!"one that spoke before continued,_ "Tesserah does make a good impression of-"_

_"Exi," _the larger interrupted, "_you're being cocky again. Shut up."_

The one that spoke before clicked their tongue, but shrugged.

"_Fine,"_ they said, "_But you know it's true. And the second they get here, we'll grab that last monsuno and-"_

A hand flew up to silence the loud one. Six felt anxious when he saw it was the last one that he got a chill from.

"_I think you'll have to mind what you say,"_ they said, "_it seems that we're being listened to."_

Immediately, Six hid behind the wall he was leaning on before. How did they know he was there? No one could detect his presence, not even the best S.T.O.R.M. soldiers could. And that voice… the second he heard it he knew what it was about their presence that was off. He finally knew what that feeling was just a few minutes ago.

Bloodlust.

No… That wasn't all… There was something else...

He heard footsteps, though he knew he would be fine because of where he was. They didn't seem to possess monsuno, so there was no way they could scale the wall up to the cave he was at.

"_… Well?"_ the one of them demanded, "_hurry up and come out!"_

Six took a steady breath, still gripping onto Demise's core. He was alone on this one. It was strange to feel so unsure about himself, he never felt this way. After all, his father expected him to be the best, even better then Chase. There was never room for error.

'I will not lose to them. They do not frighten me,' He thought, and stood silently.

"_About time you showed up!"_ the loud one boomed again. Six let out a small gasp, and peeked over the side to see five teens emerging from another cave to challenge the hooded figures.

"That's…!"

HLP

The large S.T.O.R.M. ship was hovering over the jungle to the east, not bothering to wait for any word about the remnants of the base. Charlemange knew very well that all her troops had evacuated (they weren't all completely useless after all), but what she did wonder was whether Suno and his little group had made it out. Either way, their next objective was to try and find Jeredy.

"… Well? What iz zey status?" she asked, crossing her arms as a few of the troops furiously worked at the computers.

"It seems that there is nothing left of the base, Ma'am," one of them said, "it's as if the whole base was consumed by a black hole."

She put a hand under her chin in thought. This was most likely the work of Dr. Tallis. She had gotten reports of a town disappearing in the same suit, though she dismissed that as some sort of negative reaction to monsuno essence.

"However," the soldier continued, "it seems that multiple monsuno were spotted by the remainder troops. Some of them being those of Core Tech."

Charlemange let out a huff. Of course Suno's group made it out. They were lucky after all.

"Iz that all," she asked, "Otherwise, start our course to the northeast. There have been reports of Jeredy Suno in that direction-"

"Hold on Ma'am," another soldier interrupted.

"What iz it?"

"Two of the monsuno that were spotted appeared to neither be Core Tech or Eklipse technology. In fact, there was no technology."

She stared for a moment, "What are you saying? That zere are natural monsuno out zere still?"

The soldier hesitated (typical reaction), so another spoke up, "It seems that the monsuno that were fighting had no discernible marks or colors that could be identified. What's more, these monsuno's energy levels are off the charts! Not to mention the physical differences they have compared to regular monsuno."

The commandant thought for a moment. It seems that the information that Dr. Tallis gave wasn't faulty after all. Maybe there was some truth to it. Regardless, that wasn't their focus. Not with Suno still running around.

"Send out any samples, pictures, or records to the research bay of zes 'rogue monsuno'," Charlemange commanded, "We'll look into zee matter, but it won't be priority."

"Yes Ma'am!"

She looked over as the rest of the troops started to work furiously.

"Now," she said, "WHERE IZ COMMANDER TREY?!"

The door flew open, with said commander stumbling through in a flustered manner.

"H-here ma'am."

"Where 'ave you been?! I expected you to report back well over an hour ago!"

Commander Trey was taken back a bit by her shouting, but stood his ground anyway, "I'm afraid I was in the sick bay since we left the base. Me, as well as a few others, were injured on the way out while encountering a group of thugs who snuck into the base."

Charlemange raised a suspicious brow, thinking that it was Suno's group he was speaking of. But that was preposterous that those five would take out Commander Trey and most of the soldiers, "Who exactly were these thugs?"

"Dr. Tallis' group."

She clicked her tongue in annoyance. First he sends S.T.O.R.M. information, then infiltrates their base. What was this guy planning? Whatever. She didn't have time for this.

"Regardless," she said, then turned back to the rest of her troops, "We'll still head up towards the-"

She was cut off by alerts given off the computers, many of them causing the screens to flash brightly. All the soldiers immediately went to work to find out what was wrong. Before Charlemange could give another command, the ship made a jolting lurch to the side, making all of them loose their footing.

"What iz going on?!" She demanded, holding onto the railing as the ship veered to its side even more.

"It seems that the monsuno energy levels are going off the charts!" one of the soldiers exclaimed, "We can't locate where it's coming from, but its causing a disturbance in the atmospheric pressure!"

The ship creaked, and once again tilted to the side. The troops scrambled about, trying to get it to even out. The commandant grit her teeth in anger at this new nuisance.

"Fine," she huffed under her breath, then announced to the rest of them,"Set a course for zee eastern base closest to use. We'll 'ave to land zere."

As soon as they would land, she would get to the bottom of whatever this spike in monsuno energy was. Though one thing was for certain. It most likely revolved around Chase Suno.

HLP

"_We were really wondering when you would finally stop following us,"_ the cocky figure said as the five teens stepped out of the dark cave into the dimly lit space, although the moonlight on the lake made it slightly easier to see. The lead of the five teens smirked.

"Well. It's always smart to assess your enemy before making a move," the red haired teen leading the group said, crossing his arms. None of them made an immediate move, merely staring off.

"You sure this was a good idea Alpha?" Kilo whispered to their leader, "I mean, we don't even know who these creeps are. Or what they have to do with those rogue monsuno."

"I'll figure it out as we go," the leader responded. He usually had a plan when going into danger, but it never hurt to do things on the fly. At least, that's what he hoped.

After they had followed the monsuno for what felt like hundreds of miles, the Strike Squad found the entrance to an underground labyrinth. Strangely enough, the wolf monsuno urged them to go inside. Alpha had a feeling that it was too big to fit inside, but that there was something important that they had to see. It was strange how much he understood from the monsuno without actually speaking to it.

"_I see. You're all from S.T.O.R.M.,"_ one of the figures said in a serious tone, "_I suggest the five of you leave now. Otherwise, you won't be leaving here alive."_

That last statement made the five of them flinch, though Alpha stood his ground. He was never one to back out of a fight, especially ones he didn't initiate. Not to mention this unnerving feeling he got while looking at the four. Maybe it was in the way they stood or talked, but there was just something different about them...

One of them, the cocky sounding one from before, let out a dramatic sigh, "_I suppose I'll deal with these five. I doubt they'll put up much of a-"_

_"No, Exi,"_ the serious one from before said, "_You'll be needed when Suno arrives. Triah will take care of them."_

The larger of the four figures stepped forward. Alpha nearly talked back at the thought of a one-on-five fight, as if it were an insult to the Strike Squad's abilities. He, however, held back his tongue as the person in front of them gave off a menacing feeling. They stretched out for a second before speaking.

_"I was wondering whether I would get a warm up before Suno,_" they said, "_though I'm sure it won't be for as long as I would wish."_

Before any of them could respond, the person vanished and rubble and debris went flying through the air, as if a bomb went off right under their feet. Alpha held his arms out in a defensive stance, and could hardly see through the dust. When he turned back to try and find the rest of the Squad, he was met by a tremendous force that knocked the breath out of him. As soon as he tried to get his footing, he was slammed back against the wall by his throat.

"_Interesting. You seem to have the monsuno sight as well," _The hooded person said as Alpha struggled against their vice-like grip, "_I wonder if we handed you over, you would be a successful test subject-"_

"Get off him!"

The person holding him was gone, tackled to the ground by Bravo. Alpha collapsed to his knees, trying to take a breath, but coughing against the dust still in the air. He looked ahead to see both Bravo and Kilo struggling to fight against the large figure. Alpha looked over to see the other three figures watching, though hardly doing even that.

'Aren't they going to call out monsuno? Surely that would be an easier victory,' Alpha thought, then took hold of Tripwire's core.

"Tripwire, launch!" he shouted, then threw the core as hard as he could at one of the large stalagmites. The sparks weren't as bright as before as it spun, and Alpha could only watch in anticipation as it hit the wall.

He let out a gasp. The metal hit with a small 'thud', and fell uselessly to the ground.

"What?!" He exclaimed.

"_Oh! Nice try there!"_ the figure with the cocky voice chirped, going over and picking up the core. They tossed it absently as if it were just a toy, "_Too bad monsuno can't stand this place!"_

Both Bravo and Kilo were thrown off to the side, and the large figure stood over them. They cracked their neck a bit, before turning back to Alpha.

"_This seriously can't be all you can do without monsuno,"_ they sighed, then turned back to the red-haired teen.

"Alpha!"

Both Tango and X-Ray jumped out of the dust from behind the person. Alpha reached for his belt for something to use, but froze as the two of them were swept aside by an unknown force, slamming them into the wall. As the dust cleared, Alpha could see that it was some sort of black tentacle. A monsuno…?! Where?

He froze as he saw that the tentacle was coming from the sleeve of the person's cloak. Was the monsuno in there? He let out a gasp as the appendage shrunk down into a regular arm. The hooded person flexed their hand before turning to Alpha.

"_Silly children,"_ the large figure said as they stalked over to Alpha, "_Did you really think simple combat could take us on?"_

Before he could get close, X-Ray threw out a smoke bomb, making cover for them to escape.

"Alpha! We need to regroup!" Tango shouted, running over to Bravo and Kilo. Snapping out of his daze, the red-haired teen nodded but stopped when he remembered that the other figure had Tripwire's core.

"Go into the caves and wait for me!" He called out to his team, and ran in the direction that he threw the core. He could hear a commotion happening, and knew that the smoke bomb had probably filled the whole area the nine of them were in.

"_Oh! Do you think Triah will be able to get them now?"_

_"Doesn't matter, they're not important."_

_"But what about the- Ah!"_

The sound of someone falling was heard, and Alpha crouched down and moved slowly towards the sound, knowing that he could probably take one of them down if he could catch them off guard.

"_Exi. I told you to stop fooling around."_

_"Hey. It's not my fault this place is so dank and dark!"_

Alpha saw a glimmer of metal nearby, and crawled over underneath the cover of the smoke to see Tripwire's core. The person - Exi- had probably dropped it. As he reached for it, something else caught his eye. Not much farther away was a glowing green stone, one he thought he wouldn't ever see.

The Crystal of Tav Kagah.

* * *

A/N: Review Review Review!


	39. Chapter 39

A/N: This is it. The final few chapters (though I can't say exactly how many). It's been hectic trying to finish this, but dammit I'm going to finish this thing to the end, so have another chapter as things get hectic again. Thanks to Wyvern-Socress-Myra and ChasexJinjaForever for the reviews.

Enjoy!

* * *

The group was walking silently through the desert, landing just a few minutes ago in case the rogue monsuno should be nearby. Beyal had told them they were near, and the group was now trying to search for some sort of tunnel or entrance that would lead them to the cave that Mrs. Suno spoke of. The group moved in silence as they combed the endless sands for some sign of life.

...

_"No! Wait! Mrs. Suno!" Beyal shouted, trying to fight against the waves of energy as the woman stood smiling sadly as she faded into the darkness. _

_"Find the Cave of Coalescence. Remake the seals and save my son."_

_Before he knew it, he was being flung quickly from that plane and back into reality._

_He gasped, as if he broke the surface of water after being submerged for so long. He looked around, though the room spun when he tried. Instead, he opted to lean forward a bit and try to stead his breath._

_"Beyal!"_

_He turned around, though a bit slowly, and saw Chase and Bren kneeling close by. He let out a shaky sigh, trying to calm down. The two of them exchanged looks before Bren took off out of the room. It was then that Beyal noticed that there was a large hole in the wall as if a bomb went off._

_"Wh-what happened?" the monk asked shakily._

_"Oh, that?" Chase asked, looking over his shoulder, "Klipse's creepy butler showed up with Dom Pyro. They had something to give to... Dax."_

_Beyal raised a brow. He hardly knew what was going on, and could tell he missed something important in the time that he was talking to Mrs. Suno-_

_He let out a gasp, then turned to the black-haired teen, "Chase! We have go, now!"_

_"Whoa Beyal. Slow down," the other said, holding his hands up a bit, "What d'you see? Is something happening with the Original monsuno?"_

_"No. Not just the monsuno," Beyal said, taking another deep breath and letting it out slowly, "Your mother… She said that the cave in the north is where we need to recreate the seals that the Hand has been releasing. Except..."_

_"Except?"_

_"We have to get there before they do, or else-"_

_Bren reappeared in the doorway, along with Jinja. The monk let out a sigh of relief to see them all okay. He could somewhat recall what happened a few minutes before he started to mediate, but not much._

"Chase. Beyal. What's going on?" Jinja asked. When Chase stood, he had a grin on his face.

_"I was right Jin," he said, "My mother did say we should go North. We'll have to go tonight!"_

...

"I think I see something," Bren said, glancing into the distance. They all looked forward, but didn't expect to see anything right away in the faint moonlight shining through the clouds. They ran for a few minutes until they reached a large depression in the ground that led down to a cave entrance.

"I guess that's it," Chase said, and took a step forward. Before he could get far, Dax took a hold of his forearm.

"How can we be sure?" Dax asked, looking around in case someone (or something) should pop out.

"_This is it."_

Beyal froze a bit at the voice he heard. He hadn't heard it before, but it was familiar somehow. He felt a tug somewhere in the back of his mind, and he realized that the monsuno was speaking directly to him for the first time.

Before anyone could say anything, Beyal went ahead and slid down to the entrance. Chase exchanged a look with Bren, who just shrugged, before going in after him. Once they were all at the mouth of the cavern, there was no way of telling where they were going after the first few steps, so Bren jogged a head and shone the core tablet out.

Along the way, Beyal hadn't said much about what they were supposed to be looking for, just that it would recreate the seals that the Hand had broken, and that the original monsuno would return to normal. Again, they had no idea of whether or not this would work, however.

He also didn't want to mention Mrs. Suno's warning to Chase. If the Hand really was taking over his mind at the moment, then what was keeping them from taking complete control while they were helping the original monsuno? As long as they kept an extra eye on Chase, hopefully things would be fine...

"Up ahead," Jinja said. Beyal glanced up, and saw the exit of the cave. When the tunnel widened out into the cavern, they all couldn't help but marvel at the sight. The tunnel had led to an enormous lake that stretched far throughout, the ceiling curving upward into a dome. More caverns could be seen on the edges, which made Beyal think that the whole area was some sort of labyrinth. A waterfall was on the farther side, with a large hole in the ceiling that allowed the moonlight to creep through.

"So is this it?" Bren asked, tapping on the Core Tablet. It started to make static noises, and he made a frustrated sound before looking up, "I don't think this'll be much help."

"We could always use our monsuno," Dax suggested, stuffing his hands into his pockets. Chase walked out from the tunnel, glancing around the area for any sign.

"What we ought to find is where those pictures were taken that Dr. Tallis sent us," Jinja said, then also started to look around. Beyal had reached half way to the lakeside before he noticed the ground evening out. When he looked, he could see he was standing on a large slate beneath some of the fallen rocks. He knelt down, brushing some of the dirt and sand away until he could see an indentation. For some reason it looked familiar...

"Hey guys I found something," Chase called. They all looked over to see him moving some of the rocks away a few feet from where Beyal stood. Everyone rushed over to him to see what he was looking at as he revealed the large pattern on the stone Chase stood up and turned to the rest of them, "Doesn't this look like something we've seen before?"

"... Maybe," Jinja said, putting a thumb to her chin in thought. Bren bent down for a closer look, humming a bit as he did.

"It doesn't look quite like the picture we got," he said, then stood back up to look around. Beyal couldn't help but stare, then glanced back at the other indentation that he had found. He walked over and uncovered that as well. This one looked more familiar to him. But why...? His Master would've known-

The monk stopped, and looked intensely down at the mark, remembering where he had seen it before. Of course it looked familiar. It was all over the Temple of Tebab. It was a symbol from one of the original Five tribes!

He stood, and saw that there were four more in a circle. Was this the seal? No. This was too simple. There had to be something else...

Beyal sat down, glancing around to see everyone else still looking for some other sign or symbol. Taking a deep breath, the monk tried to clear his mind to figure out what this meant. The Five Tribes... When was the last time he saw those marks all together...

Immediately, he saw the spring of monsuno essence within the Cave of Convergence. His memories were backtracking, and he could recall how they didn't find the spring at first. They had to get through that large door with the symbols of the Five Tribes on it.

His eyes snapped open. Of course. This wasn't the seal. It was just a barrier to ward off intruders!

"Everyone! I found it!" he exclaimed, and stood up.

"What? What'd you find?" Bren asked.

"It is here. The seal is somewhere nearby," Beyal said, and pointed down to the symbol on the ground, "And this is the way to find it."

"Are you sure?" Chase asked.

The monk nodded, "Positive."

"Alright. Good enough for me!" their leader exclaimed, and started to move some more of the dirt and rocks away from the large stone slat. It didn't take long before the large dais was cleared off, displaying different markings and symbols all over. The most prominent being those of the Five Tribes.

"Okay. Now what?" Dax asked. They all turned to Chase, though he could only shrug.

"Beyal?"

The monk nodded, then tried to reach out into his own mind to look for the monsuno still inhabiting it. He could faintly feel the tug every so often earlier, but now it was stronger. All he needed was some sort of hint.

"_Stand on them... Present yourselves... as the ones from the destiny of the Five Tribes…"_

"We have to stand on the marks of the Five Tribes," he responded, heading for one of the symbols. The others hesitated a bit (though Chase was quite eager to get to one).

As soon as they all got into place, a circle of blue light appeared. The indents lit up as well, and the blue light shot out into the lake. As soon as it hit the surface it faded away. And all at once, the water shot up towards the ceiling. They all gasped at the sight of the water curving up into a brilliant display. The group was even more surprised to see ruins of some sort of temple or city revealed in the empty lake. There was a low rumbling, and a stone pathway leading into the ruins was revealed in front of them.

"I guess that's the way in," Chase said, then took a few steps forward towards the ruins.

"W-wait a sec Chase," Bren said, then cast a weary look at the water suspended in the air "do you think its safe? I mean, that water can't possibly stay like that forever..."

"Maybe not, but we can't just stick around here waiting for someone to show up," Dax said.

The others started to follow suit, but Beyal couldn't help but feel a bit nervous at Chase's enthusiasm. Was Mrs. Suno wrong? Chase didn't seem hostile at all, or even like before when the Hand took over both of their minds through their dreams.

"_Look out!"_

He turned around, and saw a flash of light from inside one of the caverns. Before he could alert anyone, the light surged forward out of the darkness and pounced out at them. In the split second that it pounced out, Beyal saw that it was the mountain lion monsuno from before.

There was another flash that intercepted, taking the other to the ground. It was then that all five of them had seen that it was the white wolf monsuno from before. The two beasts snarled at each other, carefully circling and waiting for the other to strike.

"W-what is that?" Bren stuttered out. No one could respond before the mountain lion monsuno took off for the group again. Just as it was about to claw at them, the wolf monsuno jumped on its back, dragging it away.

"Guys, look out!" Dax shouted. They all turned to see another monsuno appearing, this one being the jackal monsuno. It watched them all, quietly walking over as to not alert the other two that were fighting. It was Chase who decided to make the first move.

"Locke, launch!"

The core went spinning out towards one of the larger rocks that had fallen nearby. To all their surprise, the core hit and fell uselessly to the ground. It was then that the jackal monsuno took off towards them. Jinja let out a shriek as it pounced.

HLP

As soon as he saw the monsuno coming at them, Chase thought he could rely on his own monsuno. When he saw Locke's core fall lamely, he couldn't help but feel his heart drop. He didn't even notice the jackal monsuno charging at them until Bren tackled him to the ground. It soar over them, and Chase looked over to see that it had also jumped over Jinja and Dax as well and went straight for-

"Beyal!"

The monk was pinned down by the large monsuno. It glared down at him, though he could only stare up wide-eyed.

"Tripwire, Following Strike!"

A yellow monsuno jumped out from the shadows, slamming into the jackal monsuno and off Beyal.

"Wait. That monsuno," Chase started, then turned to the direction it came from and saw Alpha standing smugly near the edge of the lake, followed by Tango and X-Ray.

"Didn't think I'd have to be saving your skin today Chase," the red-haired teen said.

"What're you guys doing here?" Bren asked, standing up slowly. Chase couldn't help but noticed how roughed up the three of them looked. He glanced around, trying to find the other two Strike Squad members.

"We're here for the monsuno of course," Tango said, crossing her arms.

"We've been following it all night," X-Ray added, sighing a bit. Alpha walked forward a little, and looked straight at Chase.

"Suno," he said, "I don't know exactly what has been going on for the past few days. But I_ do_ know that these monsuno have something to do with it. So I suggest you stop diddle-daddling around here and get going."

Chase blinked dumbly, "'diddle-daddling'?"

Alpha flushed a little, then walked past and picked up Locke's core. He tossed it to Chase without looking at him, "For some reason, this place doesn't let monsuno out of their cores. You have to be some distance away for the cores to work."

"Wait. How do you know this?" Jinja asked.

"From experience of course," Alpha huffed. Tripwire was sent flying into one of the large stalagmites that were nearby, turning all their attention back to the fights as the Jackal monsuno prepared to charge at them again.

"Ironjaw!"

"Blockade!"

Two more of the Strike Squad's monsuno appeared from the shadows of some of the caves, both slammed into the jackal monsuno as Tripwire regained its footing.

"Hurry up Suno! We don't have much time left!" Alpha shouted. Chase frowned, but nodded.

"Let's go guys," he said to his team, and they bolted towards the ruins in the lake. Chase felt a bit guilt about leaving Alpha and the others to fight the monsuno, but what choice did they have? Especially now that they didn't have the option to call out their own monsuno.

That last thought disturbed him the most. Chase thought he would have Locke with him on this. But now, he felt vulnerable knowing that he couldnt' rely on him. Even now as he clutched onto the core, he could feel the power inside fading. What was going on?

HLP

Alpha looked over his shoulder, watching as Suno and his group took off into the ruins. He smirked a bit, knowing his rival would be able to get to the bottom of things. He turned to Tango and X-Ray.

"Both of you follow them," he said to their surprise, "I can take these guys on."

"B-but Alpha-"

"You guys saw what those four from before are capable of," Alpha said, a bit quietly, "And they're after Suno for one reason or another."

...

_He couldn't believe it. The crystal was right in front of him, but how?_

_"Ah! Crap!"_

_"What's wrong now?"_

_"I think… I might've dropped the crystal thing somewhere."_

_Taking that as a signal to run, Alpha snatched up the crystal and took off for the caves. He didn't bother to look back, nor make any witty comeback, not with his team's lives at stake with that… _thing_ around._

_It was only when they were all safely outside the caverns and in the desert once again did he breath out of relief._

_"Well, that could've gone better," Kilo said. Both him and Bravo plopped to the ground. X-Ray was casting nervous glances into the tunnel while Tango kept looking out and around the desert._

_Bravo was the first to speak, letting out a sigh, "Who would've thought they would have monsuno."_

_"… It wasn't a monsuno," Alpha said, getting curious glances from his teammates, "Whoever they are, they're not human."_

_"What do you mean?" Tango asked._

_"When you all were knocked down… I saw that person was the one attacking everyone, not a monsuno."_

_His teams looks changed to anxious ones, though even Alpha had a hard time believing what he saw._

_"So… that thing from before," Bravo said, making a gesture with his arm, "That was…"_

_"Yeah. It was," the red-haired teen responded. Silence resounded around them as they thought over everything._

_"So what should we do now?" X-Ray asked, "That monsuno wanted us to go in there. But there's no way I'm going back there! Especially if we don't have monsuno to fight with!"_

_It was then that Alpha remembered what happened in the cave, and took Tripwire's core in his hand. It had regained some of its glow, though still wasn't as brilliant as a few hours ago. It was just as that person from before said. Maybe monsuno couldn't be let out of their cores down there..._

_"What's the point in even following it?" Kilo said skeptically, "I mean. We've been following for some time now, and those -whatever they are- are clearly after something that doesn't concern us."_

_The red-haired leader crossed his arms in thought. What were they supposed to do? And why did those people have the Crystal of Tav Kagah? Didn't Chase win it during the-_

_Alpha let out a small gasp, remembering what those four were saying before they revealed themselves. For some reason, they said Chase is going to be here, and it was obvious that there was some sort of trap going on. Were they after Chase as well? __Alpha scoffed a bit at the fear he had for his rival, as if he actually somewhat cared. Maybe that guy was rubbing off on him..._

_"Well… We do know one thing," Alpha said, "whoever they are, they're after Suno, which means we are going back in there."_

_….._

It took a considerable amount of convincing to get the others back on board of coming back down into the caves, but Alpha wasn't about to turn back. Of course, they had also seen the rogue monsuno running around nearby when they tried to find another entrance. Currently, Bravo and Kilo were holding back the owl monsuno above ground, leaving the other two to Alpha, X-Ray and Tango.

"…Well? Get going you two," Alpha exclaimed, "Just… Let me borrow your monsuno for this fight."

He could see X-Ray hesitating a bit, and Tango only stared off to the fight. There was something in her eyes that made her turn to Alpha and toss him her core.

"Alright boss," she said, urging X-Ray to follow suit. He did, and tried to give Alpha a reassuring smile.

"Just… Don't do anything stupid," the brown-haired teen said. Alpha nodded back, then tossed something to them as well.

"Here," he said, "If those people are after Suno, I think you're going to need that."

The two of them exchanged looks before running after Team Core Tech. Alpha smirked as he turned back to the fight. He never fought against such a strong foe (except Chase of course) so this fight was such to be thrilling!

* * *

A/N: Review Review Review!


	40. Chapter 40

A/N: Thanks to KaimelarTheDreamer for the review and apologies for the lack of updates (I have been way too busy to even think about writing). Luckily I'll be able to focus on this ending (and maybe something extra) all this week and post everyday until its done.

Enjoy!

* * *

As the small group fled into the ruins, casting weary glances at the walls of water that arose all around, Chase couldn't help but think about how impressive it was for the entire ancient city to be completely hidden under water, in the desert nonetheless! They had seen ruins in the past, but they were hardly as grand. He also couldn't help but compare it to the monsuno spring that they had come across before in the mountains when searching for the Cave of Convergence. If these places existed, who knows how many more are out there...

For the most part, this place seemed very similar in the sense that it was completely untouched. The building's rock, which didn't even seemed to belong from the area, was white with a slight glow from the moonlight that shinned through the ceiling, though there was most that covered some parts of the rock. The many corridors and alleyways were all darkened, and seemed to twist all about in a maze. They would have to be careful not to get lost.

When the group reached the bottom of the stairs, they glanced around the different path ways they could take. They were on a series of bridges that led into the ruins from different directions, though it was hard to tell if there was anything below them because of the shadows. As far as Chase could tell, it was a bottomless pit.

"So now where do we go?" Bren asked, looking around.

"Not sure," Chase responded, and walked slowly ahead. He could feel something different about this place, but he decided to keep that feeling to himself.

… Maybe it was his imagination, but it felt like everyone was being extra cautious around him. Although, he couldn't blame them. After all, he was running around on his own in the base, and nearly decided to leave them in the desert. Still, they all probably felt something eerie about this place as well, so there was no need to bring attention to it.

"Well. Beyal?" he said, then turned to the monk. Beyal nodded, then closed his eyes. Chances were, they would have to ask the monsuno for clearer directions of where to go. Either that or Chase's mother.

He frowned deeply at that last thought.

… Why wasn't she talking to him right now? Wasn't that the point of them coming here? He sighed in frustration.

It was then that Chase saw Tango and X-Ray coming down from the stairs as well. As soon as they reached the bottom, everyone else glared daggers at them.

"What're you two doing here?" Dax asked, crossing his arms at them.

"Alpha told us to follow," X-Ray huffed, "though I could really care less myself."

"Well, no one asked you what you cared about," Bren sassed. The other teen with glasses glared back, almost in a challenging way. Chase frowned a bit.

There was loud rumbling above them, indicating the ongoing battle outside. No doubt the other Strike Squad members were having trouble. For a brief second, Chase thought about going out to help them, but knew he would be useless without Locke.

"Bren not now," he said, "We need to focus. We can deal with the Strike Squad later, especially if we can't use our monsuno."

Chase said that last part with a bit of reluctance. Even though they were so close to their goal, knowing that he couldn't call on Locke made him feel... vulnerable. Bren's shoulders sagged in defeat, and turned away.

"What was up with that anyway?" Jinja asked, "Alpha said something earlier about how this place doesn't let monsuno be called out, but why?"

Both Tango and X-Ray exchanged looks. The raven-haired girl was the one to speak up, "Who knows. It might have something to do with those rogue monsuno and strange people from before."

"What strange people?" Dax asked.

"A couple of freaks if you ask me," X-Ray said, "Four cloaked people were here earlier, though can't say where they've gone. According to Alpha, one of them was part monsuno, though he was probably just hallucinating from heat stroke. We were following that darn monsuno all day."

Chase glanced a knowing look to his friends. Four cloaked people. Without a doubt it was the ones from the Hand of Destiny that his mother had spoken about.

"So… Where are they now?" Bren asked.

"Around, probably," Tango said, glancing around cautiously, "They were expecting you, so I would be on guard if I were you."

"But that means that they probably know that the ruins are here already!" Jinja said, more to the others then to the Strike Squad.

"If that were the case, why didn't they come down here and release the seal then?" asked Dax, "I mean, it's not like they've got nothing to lose-"

"This way!" Beyal suddenly said, and started running forward down one of the pathways.

"H-Hey! Wait!" Jinja shouted. They all charged after him, careful to not step close to the edges of the path when it would get narrow. They ran through arches, empty corridors, and up staircases, slowing every so often as the one leading them made weary glances to their surroundings. As they did, Beyal seemed to get more exhausted the more they go towards the center, until finally he came to a halt. There was still rumbling overhead, though it was more muffled now that they were farther from the entrance.

"… What is it?" Jinja asked. The monk just stared ahead, though a bit unfocused.

"The seal… it's near," he said a bit faintly, putting a hand to his head, "But…It's hard to hear… the monsuno."

Suddenly, Beyal's weight gave out from under him. Luckily, Dax grabbed his arm before he hit the floor. The rest of the group (minus the two Strike Squad members) crowded around the two worriedly.

"What's wrong with the white-haired freak?" X-Ray said, crossing his arms. Everyone just glared at him, including Tango. Immediately he looked away, embarrassed.

"… It looks like his fever's spiked again," Jinja said, placing a hand on the monk's forehead as they knelt down at his side.

"The monsuno did say we didn't have much time…" Bren muttered. Chase bit his lip, and got up. He glanced around for some sort of sign, or marking, or_ something_ that could point them in the right direction. He could hear Beyal go into a coughing fit, and clenched his fists.

"You wanted us here," he muttered under his breath, then turned out towards the empty ruins and started to shout, "Where are you?! I know your here! Just, give us a sign!"

He could feel the group's eyes on him, but he didn't dare to turn around. He knew- he just _knew_ \- that she was here somewhere. If Six supposedly was able to see her, why couldn't he? Was that just a lie to get them here?

"Chase…" Jinja sighed.

… No. He could feel _her_ presence somewhere close by. If only he could use his monsuno sight properly...

_"…Chase."_

He let out a gasp. That voice…!

"_Chase, help!"_

_"_Where…?" He said, looking around as fast as he could. Her voice was so much clearer now, seeming to echo all around him in a dizzying wave. But it was also much clear then it had any time before.

"_I'm in the city. The Hand of Destiny is coming!"_

He felt his heart leaping. She was here!

"_Chase hurry! They'll be back soon-"_

_"_Chase? What's wrong." Jinja asked, snapping him out of his daze. He ignored her. Trying to pinpoint where he heard the voice coming from. It made his ears ring in pain as she spoke, but he endured for the moment.

"Where… Where are you?" Chase asked loudly, turning around. He felt lightheaded, but knew she was close. He could feel it.

_"I don't know. But it's not far from the center of the ruins," _she cried out, "_Hurry! I think they're coming back!_"

"B-but I"

"_CHASE!"_

Before he knew it, his feet were moving on their own, taking off in the direction he had heard her voice, ignoring the frantic calls of his friends.

HLP

"Oh great," Bren sighed, watching as their leader took off on his own again, "What do we- Jinja?"

The red-haired girl stood quickly, looking towards the direction that Chase took off in. She turned and exchanged a look with Dax, who nodded silently.

"Bren," she said,"you go with Beyal and the Strike Squad to remake the seals. I'll go with Dax after Chase."

"Are-are you sure?" Bren asked. He wasn't keen on the idea of working with the Strike Squad, but seeing that the Hand were somewhere close by, he couldn't really argue.

"_Young woman,_" they all looked over to see Beyal, or rather the monsuno, staring up at them as he shakily got to his feet, "_do not let Chase get into contact with those from the Hand. They only seek to use him._"

"What do you mean? How?"

The monsuno glanced over to Tango and X-Ray for a brief moment, making the two of them fidget uncomfortably, "_If they are capable of becoming half monsuno, who knows what else they can do. Stay on guard."_

Jinja nodded, and the two off them took off after Chase.

"We'll be back as soon as we can!" she shouted over her shoulder as they disappeared around the corner. Bren let out a sigh.

"So? Where is this seal thing?" X-Ray asked. Already, Bren felt himself getting annoyed. Luckily, the monsuno took off again, leaving them to silently follow along.

HLP

_"It looks like Suno is going after her,"_ a voice said, edging from the shadows of the darkened corridors. Glowing eyes piercing through as they watched the small group split up,_ "Hopefully Tesserah can handle him. Exi. Triah. I leave the rest of them to you. I'll take on the two running after Suno."_

_"You sure?"_

_"It'll be a piece of cake with what I've got. And remember, don't attack until you see the monsuno. It'll be less messy once it's out in the open again."_

_"And the children?_" the sterner of the voices asked,_ "Should we dispose of them once we get the monsuno?"_

There was a pause, with only the sound of Chase's footsteps echoing throughout the area.

_"No. I sense most of them have monsuno sight. If possible, capture them alive and we can sort things out later."_

An annoyed groan resounded in the small corridor.

"_That just means more work though!"_ the younger of the three said.

_"No complaining. We're so close to finally ending this. Just stick to your job, and we can go."_

_"And how exactly are you planing on taking on the red-head and lowlander?" _the younger voice asked, "_they've already seen what you can do back at the base. Shouldn't you take Triah with you for backup? You know I can handle all four of those punks on my own, including the monsuno."_

The first voice let out a chuckle, "_Believe me, even they aren't prepared for what I have in store!"_

* * *

A/N: (Sorry if this was a little short. I had to write it really fast last week and just got to editing)

Review Review Review!


	41. Chapter 41

A/N: Thanks to monsuno power and ChasexJinjaForever for the reviews. If anyone was wondering what I've been doing, one of the reasons I haven't updated was because I was working with a friend to make a few of the most notable scenes in this story (possibly the first few chapters) in a short comic. Will send out details once that's up and going.

Anyway enjoy!

* * *

The rogue monsuno were strong, he would admit at least that.

All six beasts ravaged throughout the caverns and onto the shores of the lake as Alpha commanded from the entrance to the ruins, random blasts flying through the air as dust and rubble was tossed around. The wolf monsuno was able to hold off the jackal one easily, while Tripwire and the other two were also able to hold their own against the mountain lion one as well. He guessed that's what happened when monsuno work together as a team for so long.

However.

He looked down at the three cores in his hands, gauging how much time he had left before he would have to retreat. Tripwire had two or so minutes left, while the others were somewhere between four and three. Hopefully the mountain lion monsuno would back off soon (or Bravo and Kilo finished fighting above and would come down to help).

"Tripwire, Following Strike!" Alpha shouted, commanding the monsuno to charge at the other. It dodged with an unnatural swiftness, even for a monsuno, and went after the other two monsuno standing by. "Blockade, Ironjaw, go towards the caves!"

The monsuno fled backwards into the shadows, the mountain lion monsuno close behind.

"Tripwire, again!" The yellow monsuno burst from behind one of the rock formations, slamming into the white monsuno. Before the two could hit the ground, it flipped around and was now on top of Alpha's. The white beast snarled before sinking its fangs into the other's neck.

"No! Tripwire!" the red-haired teen exclaimed, watching as it disappeared into a shower of yellow sparks and back into its core. Ironjaw came out from one of the caves, and tried to pounce on the white monsuno as its back was turned. Unfortunately, the mountain lion monsuno jumped up and spun down onto the other, making it go back to its core as well.

Suddenly, Alpha felt a chill up his spine. As the dust cleared, He could see the mountain lion monsuno glaring straight at him. Without any time to react, he let out a gasp at it charged at him.

"Demise, Howling Fang!"

A red monsuno burst out from behind Alpha and clashed into the mountain lion beast as it jumped. He tripped backwards as the two continued to thrash about in an attempt to get on top. He heard footsteps, and looked over to see a teen with a red jacket standing close by. The two of them exchanged looks, but didn't say anything.

"Now, Demise!" the other commanded. The red monsuno stopped abruptly, and shot a red beam from its mouth. Alpha snapped out of his stupor, and jumped to his feet. The mountain lion monsuno flipped backwards, retreating a bit towards the caverns.

"W-who are you?" Alpha demanded. The other teen ignored him for the most part, carefully watching as the beasts attacked each other. It was only when the large, white monsuno was cornered towards the shores where the water was stretching towards the ceiling did the teen respond.

"Where is Chase Suno?" he asked. Alpha raised a brow. Another person looking for Chase. Just how many enemies did that guy make? When Alpha didn't immediately respond, the other teen took a few steps towards him. "I'll ask again. _Where_ is Chase Suno?

"Why do you want to know?" Alpha asked. While he could care less about what happen to Chase, if this stranger had anything to do with those hooded freaks from before, then sending him after Chase would just put Tango and X-Ray in danger.

The bald teen didn't answer. Instead he glanced towards the entrance of the ruins. For a moment, Alpha thought he was going to go charging inside in some attempt to find Chase. Surprisingly, he just stared as if watching someone. Curious, Alpha looked over but saw no one there.

"I suppose father will be able to go on his own," the teen said, then turned back to the fight. Alpha couldn't tell if that was meant for him, someone else, or if the guy was just talking to himself. That didn't matter at the moment though. Not with the monsuno battling so fiercely close by.

The mountain lion monsuno snapped at the red one, hardly paying any attention to Blockade, who was a few seconds away from being summoned back. Alpha gripped onto the core, knowing he would be useless once that happened. He started to tap away at his communicator, determined to get a hold of Bravo or Kilo to see how they were fairing above ground. Unfortunately, it seemed that he couldn't get a signal down here.

"...tch! Damn," he muttered, then tried to get a hold of Tango or X-Ray. No signal on their side either. Perfect. He looked back to the fight just in time to see Blockade get recalled to its core.

"Howling Fang!"

Alpha looked to the battle, then to the teen, and then towards the ruins. Should he go after his teammates? What if this stranger followed him? Its not like he could stay behind without any monsuno, or even spin them out once they recharge (not in this place at least. And he wasn't about to leave his teammates here on their own).

Suddenly, there was a voice speaking to him. Or rather, a presence that was tugging at his consciousness. He looked towards the farther fight to see the wolf monsuno staring at him. He couldn't explain what it was he was feeling, but it was as if the monsuno was speaking to him through feeling. It felt… familiar somehow.

Either way, he felt compelled to go into the ruins at this point. Turning around, he started running towards the entrance that the others disappeared in.

As he was running he could hear the monsuno battling even harder, almost like they needed to stop him. When he glanced over, he realized it was because the other guy was following him.

"Wh-what are you doing?!" he shouted over his shoulder, not bothering to stop as a blast flew overhead. The guy didn't answer, at least not until they got halfway down the large staircase.

"I need to find Chase," he stated like a fact. Alpha didn't bother to ask further, and instead just continued to run forward. As long as this guy didn't try to hurt his teammates, it didn't matter what happened to Chase and his friends. Alpha looked back one last time uneasily, wondering if the rogue monsuno would bother to follow them.

HLP

"Chase! Come back!"

Both Jinja and Dax ran after Chase through the twists and turns of the ruins, though it was amazingly hard to keep up with him. Every corner they would pass, they would barely see him flee behind another. Since when was he this fast?

"Chase, wait!" Jinja shouted again. As soon as they passed through another hall, they came to a intersection of three more, and were already worn out. The two of them stood quietly, trying to hear Chase's footsteps.

"...Damn," Dax cursed, looking around. There was no sign of him anywhere. He tried looking for something out of place that could point them in the right direction, but couldn't see anything immediately.

"Dax. Take the left. I'll go right," Jinja said, "if we can't find him in ten minutes, let's meet back here and-"

"... No," Dax said, then started to walk towards one of the halls, carefully looking down for an footprint or disturbed dust in the air. Jinja let out a sound of protest.

"What?"

"We don't split up here. I don't like this place," he said, glancing down the other halls suspiciously, "We ought to stay together. Just in case."

That much was true. Every since they had arrived, he had this feeling of them being watched. It left him on edge, though he tried not to alert anyone in case they were being watched. But then Chase went ahead and took off without everyone (as usual). This was really starting to become annoying.

Jinja huffed a little, "I don't like being here either. But I really doubt there's anything here that could jump out at any moment. It'll be easier to find him if we cover more ground."

Dax shook his head. As much as he wanted to agree with her, they couldn't go charging into this place alone. He felt bad already leaving Bren and Beyal with the Strike Squad. And if what they said was true about those hooded people lurking somewhere nearby, then they would need to be extra precautions.

"Ah! There he is!" Jinja exclaimed, then took off into the hall on the right.

"W-wait a sec!" Dax shouted after her. If the two of them got separated, there was a good chance something would happen like back in the base. And who knows what else these people were capable of.

Before he could get half way towards the hall Jinja had ran through, a wall suddenly came down between the two of them. Dax skidded to a halt, then immediately started to slam on it.

"Oi! Princess!" he shouted, "Can you hear me?!"

After a moment, he heard her voice though a bit muffled.

"Yeah! What happened?" she exclaimed. Dax glanced around, there was a good chanced that this was a booby trap set up for intruders. Meaning there was probably some sort of level or switch nearby that could disarm it, though it posed no threat at the moment.

"I'm going after Chase!" Jinja declared.

"W-wait a sec!" Dax shouted, but could tell she was already gone. He let out a frustrated sigh. Maybe one of the other corridors could lead him in that direction...

Taking a deep breath, Dax ran through the closer of the corridors, well knowing that he could be walking into a trap.

Sure enough, after going through a few halls and coming into a circular room, he heard someone approaching. He didn't bother trying to hide. He could hold his own on one-on-one combat, even without monsuno. And it was obvious that whoever it was, wasn't trying to mask their presence.

"... Hurry up and get over here," he shouted, taking a stance, "there's no use in hiding."

There was a familiar laugh, and he immediately tensed up.

"_Do you really want to speak to me that way?"_

He knew that voice. He could never forget it, and he prayed that he was wrong.

From the shadows of the hall entered a tall cloaked figure. He growled under his breath a bit, waiting for them to make the first move. The second they removed their hood, he felt his energy drain a little.

It was a robust woman with dreads that curtained down and around her worn face. She held that strong menacing air, but smiled with a comforting warmth that only he knew. He took a steady breath, shoulders slouching a bit in disbelief.

"Mother."

HLP

He kept running. He could hear her voice as if it were right next to him now. But every time he turned to look, Chase couldn't see her anywhere.

"Mom! Where are you?" he shouted, hearing his echo call back through the empty corridors. He took a quick breath before starting to run again. By this point, he was letting his monsuno sight guide him. It took all his strength to stay concentrated, and felt tired every time he stopped to use it. The feeling was strange, and reminded him of that time Alpha challenged him to a Tav Kagah. And for some reason, this place made it easier for him to use it.

She didn't respond any more, and that worried him. Soon after Chase turned another corner, he let out a gasp. She was close. Slowly, he looked around until finally, his eyes landed on a path that led to what looked like some sort of lighthouse (or what could be a lighthouse. Who knows when this place was built).

Wasting no time, he ran forward, trying to find some sort of entrance. He felt his heart racing when he finally found what could've been a door, but was blocked by stones. He cursed under his breath, feeling around for a switch of some sort. The second he put his hand on it, a mark lit up on the rock before the wall slid down. Chase was a bit surprised, but didn't have time to admire whatever monsuno magic this place offered, especially after he saw the staircase that led up and around the tower.

This was it. He was finally going to see her. Get her back. They would all be a family again. That aching feeling he would have will be gone. With his mother safe, they would finally be able to take down the Hand of Destiny for good. He didn't even focus on his actions as he bolted up the stairs.

He skidded to a halt when he reached the top, overlooking the whole ruins. It wasn't the tallest building, that one was in the dead center, and looked much more grand. That was probably where the others were heading and where the seals were. He glanced around the open deck, and walked around until he was facing the back of a hooded figure. He recognized that black cloak, and grabbed Locke's core. As soon as he did, they turned around.

"Who are you?" He demanded, "And where is my mother."

The person let out a small sigh, and lifted the hood, letting their long brown hair curtain down. She looked at him with gleaming teal eyes. Shock rang through his body as his eyes widened.

"Hello Chase," she said, face softened with a faint smile, "I'm so glad you came for me."

He let out a sign of relief, and was soon beaming with delight that couldn't be contained. She raised her arms a little in a gesture of embrace, and he didn't hesitate to run into them.

"I-I'm so glad... You're alright!" he half said half sobbed. He had worked so hard to finally meet her. So hard to find her. It was surreal to finally be with her in reality and not in some vision or dream.

"I know Chase. But we must hurry before the Hand returns,"she said, placing her hands onto his shoulders. He looked up a bit confused.

"Why? Are they here in the ruins? Are they after the monsuno seals?" he asked. She still smiled down at him, putting one hand onto his cheek.

"Yes. If we don't hurry after them. I'm afraid the worst will befall everyone," she said, then leaned back a little before embracing him fully by surprised, "But I am so happy to finally see you!"

Chase relaxed for a moment, before freezing up. Something was wrong. He couldn't tell immediately, but after a few seconds, he sucked in a quick breath. Tightening his hold on Locke's core that he still held, he gently pushed her away.

"...What is it?" she asked, expression a bit hurt.

"I..." he stuttered out, then backed away a few steps, "... Who are you really?"

She tilted her head in confusion, "What do you mean, 'who are you'? I'm your mother."

He shook his head, eyes not leaving her for a second, "No. What is your name."

"Sophia Suno. Married to Jeredy Suno- Chase what is this about?" she asked concerned. His gaze dropped, unable to fully look at her with such a dishearten look.

"You..." he thought for a moment, thinking of someway to prove to himself that this was really his mother. The second he came into full contact with her, this nagging feeling arose in the back of his mind. He recognized it a moment later as Locke, trying to tell him something important. A warning.

"... Chase?"

"What did you tell me when I got to the top of the mountain where the Cave of Convergence was?" he asked without any hesitation. Locke's core was now buzzing angrily, and her face fell immediately.

"We need to get out of here now son-"

"Answer me!"

Her gaze fell, and she placed a hand gently to her chest. The silence between them seemed to go on forever. Chase's hands quivered a little as he held his breath. He hoped that he was wrong. He hoped that Locke was wrong, and that she would look up and smile, saying that it was just a joke.

"_Chase… Please we have to go."_

His breath hitched when he heard the voice from before speaking to him, but tried not to show it. She was staring at him, expression pained as he looked back.

"Tell me who you are."

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A/N: Review Review Review!


	42. Chapter 42

A/N: Thanks to ChasexJinjaForever for the review. Have another chapter I've been sitting on for a while now.

Enjoy!

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Bren was sick of running around with hardly any idea of what to do next. Moreover, he was sick of being around the Strike Squad for so long. Scratch that. He didn't mind Tango as much (even if it was because of how cute she looked with her hair pulled back (not that he would admit that out loud)) but he couldn't stand X-Ray. One would think two nerds would be able to get along, but there was something that annoyed the hell out of him. Especially the way he tried to overanalyze everything.

Still, he at least had the mission to focus on at the moment.

Currently, they were running down one of the open corridors towards the middle of the ruins (which was somewhat obvious by the large cathedral-like structures that were only in one place). Bren was the only one lagging behind, however.

"Are...we almost... there?" he panted along. No one bothered to respond (not that he expected anyone to), and he grumbled a little under his breath. By this point, he was starting to wonder where Chase and the others were. They had been running for quite a long time now, and it was hard to tell how much time they had before the water would come crashing down on them, if at all.

He glanced up quickly, and couldn't help but think about how strange Chase had been acting. He had known that both his parents were important to him, but lately it was becoming more… Distracted rather then focusing on the task at hand. Sure he did that back in high school, but when it came to monsuno, his attention would be on just that.

Bren let out a yelp when his foot caught on a loose rock, making him fall flat on his face. He scrambled up in a flustered manner, checking his glasses for cracks really fast. He sighed in relief, then looked up to see everyone waiting. His ears immediately flushed with embarrassment at the two Strike Squad's annoyed looks.

"Ah, geez. How is it that these guys were the ones to beat us before?" Tango sighed. Bren huffed a little, but didn't say anything. Seeing that his glasses were okay, he placed them back on.

"Hey, dork."

He looked up to see X-Ray glaring at him, arms crossed. Bren glared back.

"What."

X-Ray showed a little hesitation, then crouched down so that he could speak quietly, "So... What _is _the deal with the white-haired guy? There's something... off about him."

"Don't know what you mean," Bren said simply, then stood up.

"Stop acting dumb," Tango said, joining in on the conversation, "White monsuno running around. Weird... monsuno people coming after Suno. This weird place-" she gestured at the ruins, "And it's obvious that it has something to do with your group."

"As usual," X-Ray mumbled.

Bren blinked. For some reason, he couldn't tell what it was that everyone was talking about, at least with Beyal. Sure he knew that the monsuno was the one leading them at this point, but even that should've freaked him out a little when he first saw it in the caverns a few days ago. And now that he thought about it, everything else was also just a typical thing for their group. After all, ever since he and Jinja joined Chase there was always someone after them.

"_Hurry up._"

The three of them turned to Beyal, who was staring blankly at them. X-Ray visibly shivered.

"S-sorry!" Bren said, standing up. There was rumbling overhead, and Beyal took off again. It wasn't long before they reached the bottom of where the tall tower-like structure started. It was made up of the same white rock as the rest of the ruins, but it seemed much more grand for some reason.

"So... Is this where the seal is?" Bren asked, admiring the building.

"No duh, idiot," X-Ray said, "Seriously. It couldn't be more obvious."

Bren stuck his tongue out at the other.

"But how do we get in?" Tango asked. The three of them looked ahead, but saw no visible door or entrance anywhere. It could've been on the otherside, but walking around the whole thing would take too long considering it was larger then any stadium or structure they'd seen so far.

Beyal walked forward, placing a hand on one of the walls. Instantly, a symbol lit up on it, and Bren recognized it as one of the symbols from the Five Tribes. There was a click, and the wall slid down, the rock quaking as it did. Without bothering to tell them, Beyal walked inside.

"W-wait!"

Bren turned around to see Tango and X-Ray both looking around in a confused manner, although she looked more distraught.

"What is it?" he asked.

"I... I hear something," Tango said, eyes going wide and hands going to her ears, "i-it's. A voice...! I-It's saying something…!"

"_I'm not surprise,"_ Beyal said with a blank expression, then looked up towards the ceiling of the cavern where the light was coming through the water. It was either the moon's light or just becoming dawn on the outside. "_What you're hearing are the voices of monsuno from before."_

Bren gave a confused look, "What does that mean?"

Beyal glanced to Bren, and then his gaze fell, "_monsuno never really die. They are made up of monsuno essence, and energy is redistributed rather then destroyed." _He looked up a little, "_Because this is where monsuno energy is sealed, those that have been lost can be heard here. Their energy is strongest at the source after all."_

Bren froze instantly. Monsuno that have...

Beyal tilted his head a little, "_... You cannot hear it?"_

"Hear what?"

"... _Nevermind."_

Bren pouted a little. Was it because of monsuno sight that he couldn't hear these voices? Did that mean that the Strike Squad had monsuno sight? He didn't get much time to question it as the monk left to go inside. Bren took one look at the Strike Squad, who seemed to be more hesitant, then ran after the other.

Inside, the temple-like structure had marble columns and arches that decorated the main hall they were in. Water from before puddled on the ground, as well as poured out of fountains. They didn't have much time to admire it before Beyal went towards the farther side of the room. He motioned for them to follow.

Once they got close. The floor lit up below them, and the floor panel they were on moved upward. It reminded Bren of a elevator, small archways flying by them as they traveled up. He glanced out and could faintly see the battle on the outside of the walls of water. That made him tense a bit, seeing the corrupted original monsuno briefly. Hopefully they would turn back to normal after this, otherwise they would have another problem on their hands. They were all silent as the panel slowed down, until it finally stopped in another large, circular room.

"So... Where are we now?" X-Ray asked. From the looks of it, they were closer to the top at this point, having light pouring down from above (although Bren couldn't tell if that was natural light at this point). It was also extremely tall with columns stretching towards the high ceiling.

"I suppose this is where the seal is...?" Bren said. Beyal nodded then walked forward until he was in the center. As soon as he did, energy burst from around him, and the three of them were nearly knocked off their feet. The floor lit up with symbols that were similar to those in the cave by the lake, except these stretched out around the whole room into more intricate patterns. Bren almost looked away, and squinted to try and see through the bright light what was going on.

"Wh-what's happening?!" Tango exclaimed, flinching back when the light brightened immensely for a second. Bren tried looking through his fingers, but could only faintly see Beyal still standing in the middle of the room, cloak fluttering wildly as the energy continued to course throughout the room.

"_Stop right there!"_

A voice rang throughout the room, someone shouting immediately afterwards. Bren quickly turned around to see Tango and X-Ray being held by their necks against the wall by a large cloaked figure while another stood close by, looking to both him and Beyal.

"Wh… Who are you?" Bren stuttered out, taking a step back. Both Tango and X-Ray continued to struggle to get free, failing to do so. The smaller figure ignored Bren's question, and instead turned to Beyal, who had yet to acknowledge them.

"_Listen up monsuno," _they exclaimed, "_you have about twenty seconds to stop what you're doing and release the seal before we decide to dispose of these two."_

"Wh-what's that suppose to mean?" X-Ray said nervously. The larger figure looked over to the other, but didn't say anything. Beyal looked back to them, the white light in the room slowly becoming more bearable to see in, turning a blue color. The green in his eyes flashed dangerously, though his expression stayed blank.

"_And who are you suppose to be?"_ the monk asked calmly, staring directly at the smaller figure. They let out a sigh, and surprisingly dropped their hood from their face, revealing a boy who was no older then fifteen. The larger figure turned a little to look back at them, but immediately turned their attention back to the Strike Squad as the two continued to struggle. The boy stared to chuckle lowly.

"_Since it won't matter in the end, my name happens to be Exi," _he said, green eyes ablaze, "_Now release the seal already! We have things to do, places to be-"_

Before anyone could blink, Beyal had suddenly charged at the teen, and hit him square in the gut. He let out a gasp, and was launched into the wall, making it shake a little from the impact. Bren couldn't help but stare in awe a bit as the boy slumped onto the ground. The other three were also just as speechless. Beyal straightened up a bit, but kept his eyes narrowed on the person. Sure enough, the boy stared to laugh under their breath.

"_Oh… Geez…"_ Exi groaned, and then rose. He cracked a few joints noisily, then looked up with eyes blazing, "_You're going to have to do better then that!"_

HLP

Silence rang throughout the room in a deafening wave. For a brief moment, Dax had realized that he was holding his breath as he watched the woman step from the shadows. He sucked in a quick breath, trying to steady himself. The last time he had seen her in real life was back when his home was being destroyed. They had been running blindly throughout the streets, desperately avoiding the explosions. They had reached a small stairwell when she made him stay put before running back to find his father.

He didn't want her to leave. They had lost his father somewhere along the way amongst the chaos, and she was determined to find him. Despite his pleading, she took off. Only seconds later, a bomb went off where she ran. At the time, Dax wasn't sure if the ringing in his ears was from the explosion or the shock of seeing both his parents vanish before his eyes.

And yet, here she was. Much older and worn looking, but her nonetheless.

"...How...?" He croaked out.

The woman chuckled under her breath, putting a hand on her hip "Is it really hard to believe that I'm here Daxy boy? You didn't make it easy to find you that was for sure."

It had to be her. The voice still held that accent that all people from the lowlands held. Even the nickname was right, and no fake would be able to mimic that. Was she just a vision...?

She chuckled at his hesitance, and walked over. He took a step backward, but soon found himself freezing up when she was only a few feet away. Now that he got a close look, he could see all differences from when he remembered her last. Her presence was still as powerful as ever, and her face looked a but worn, but still hardly looked any older then he remembered.

"It's me, Daxy," she said softly, wrapping her arms around him until they were pressed together. His arms hung uselessly at his sides as he held a breath.

This was wrong, he kept telling himself. This wasn't possible, and was probably a trap of some sort. But for some reason, he couldn't think as clearly to rule that out. He felt his eyes watering a little, but quickly blinked away the tears.

"Wh-what are you doing here?" he asked shakily. She backed off a little, but held onto his shoulders. She looked down at him with a soft gaze.

"I came here to find you of course," she said, "I've been getting notes from a man named Emmanuel Klipse about what you've been up to all these years."

"… How do you know Klipse?" he asked raising a brow.

"I don't. He's just been sending me notes of your whereabouts," she said, hardly missing a beat. He bit the inside of his cheek. There was something off about this whole situation, though he couldn't place it.

"Anyway, we have to go now. Before this place comes tumbling down!"

"Hold on," he said as she took his hand. For some reason, her grip was cold, "I still have to find my friends."

She paused for a second, though she didn't turn around to look at him. There was a spit second where she tensed up, but then turned back to him and nodded.

"Alright," she said, "lead the way."

Dax started to run down one of the opposite halls, though he wasn't sure who he was going after. Bren and Beyal should be fine on their own, especially if the Strike Squad is with them (though he wasn't sure exactly how helpful they would be without monsuno). Chase was being their 'valiant leader' as usual and running around on his own, and Jinja was running after him (though it was hard to tell if she went in the right direction).

"So… Where have you been?" Dax asked as they ran.

"Does it matter?" she said, "Right now we have to focus on finding Chase."

He held his breath for a moment, but didn't say anything.

They had gone down two halls before they got to a dead end, and he cursed under his breath. They backtracked and went another way. All the while, Dax couldn't help but feel the stare that she had on him. Maybe it was just his imagination, but it felt more threatening then it should've been. They had gone through a few more halls before they reached a walkway that connected more of the buildings together. Dax stopped on the walkway, trying to survey the area for Jinja or Chase.

"Did they go this way?" she asked.

"Not sure…" Dax muttered, crouching down to see if there were any footprints. She did as well, then let out a small gasp.

"It looks like the path has been disturbed. Someone probably ran through here not to long ago," she said, running a palm against the rock, "We'll probably catch up to him if we keep going."

She stood up to walk ahead, but Dax moved in front. She raised a brow.

"…What are you doing?"

"No sure," he said, then looked to the ground in thought, "tell me. What's my birthday?"

She gave him a confused look, "That's… random. Shouldn't we be more concerned about your friends?""

"Are you talking about Chase?" he asked, noticing how she tensed up at the mention of his name, "It's funny how you've been getting 'information' from Klipse even though he was the one who attack our town."

She was silent, but had an unreadable expression. Instead of waiting for an answer he continued.

"… I'm guessing that's how you knew about Chase," Dax continued, "Unless..."

"Unless?"

He looked up, eyes bright, "unless you're not who you say you are."

She clicked her tongue in annoyance, "you sure you want to make that accusation? After I've worked so hard to find you-"

"Shut up!" he shouted, his voice carrying throughout the empty corridors. He found himself panting a little. She glared at him as she crossed her arms, making him choke a little. Even though he knew that glare that she was giving him, it was completely foreign. It was her face. Her voice. And yet...

"… How dare you," he hissed.

"How dare I?" she repeated, cocking her head a little.

"You stole Drezz's face. Jinja's face. And now…" he growled out, hands clenching into fists, "Are you going after Chase?"

Her face was blank, and for a split second he saw something fierce in her eyes. Then, she suddenly smiled, and laughed darkly.

"Interesting how fast you caught on," she said, "no use in hiding it I suppose. We _are_ after Suno, though he's not our priority at the moment. And it would be wise for you to back off."

Dax's eyes narrowed, not budging. Her eyes darkened immensely. He took a stance, knowing he probably wouldn't last long in a fight without monsuno. As long as he stalled them for as long as he could, then maybe Jinja could catch up to Chase.

"Fine then," she said, uncrossing her arms, "But know that you're out of your league."

She charged forward, making Dax stumble a little, but he dodged nonetheless. Whoever they were, they were fast. Being on the narrow walkway wasn't helping either, making Dax glance uneasily below every time he would step a little too close to the edge.

"Swift little rat aren't you!" his 'mother' said, hardly giving Dax anytime to relax. He didn't dare try to go on the offense. He fought this person before on the roof of the S.T.O.R.M. base, and knew it would be useless. Last time, they took his hits like nothing, but was able to hit back ten times as strong.

"Hurry up and fight back so I can get going!"

He quickly glanced back, debating on whether to try and bolt for the other side and maybe hide in one of the structures. Except the problem with that would leave him vulnerable, not to mention if this person decided to leave him and go after Chase. Then that would just put him and Jinja into danger.

"What's wrong?" she laughed, "not able to hold up to mommy?"

He flinched, if only for a second. That's all it took to make him hesitant enough for her to strike with a right hook. He was thrown back, nearly sliding off the side. She laughed again, picking him up by his jacket as she did.

"I would've expected more from you," she sighed, "oh well. I guess everyone in your little group can't be all special."

He tried to snap back, but choked instead as a hand wrapped around his throat. She brought him close to where their faces were only a few inches away.

"Don't worry though, I won't be stealing your face," she purred, "After all, I still have_ this!_"

He struggled a little as she leaned back, eyes closing slowly as she took a breath. His eyes widened as soon as she did, watching as her face started to contort and melt away. Dark flesh being replaced by a lighter pink, and black hair unwinding and lengthening into curtains of orange. She rocked her shoulders as they shrank down, nearly loosing a whole foot of her height. Slowly, her eyes opened, revealing bright blue, lips curling into a smirk.

Dax gaped silently before he narrowed his eyes angrily.

"Just what are you going to do?!" he growled out. She shrugged, and suddenly pulled one had from his throat and punched him in the chest. He gasped in pain, watching as she slowly let him slip from her other hand and over the side of the walkway into the shadows below.

The last thing he remembered before his vision went black was the sound of Jinja laughing.

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A/N: Hurray I officially introduced some of villains to the main characters! (I was getting tired of using vague pronouns)

Review Review Review!


	43. Chapter 43

A/N: Thanks to TactitianLyra, ChasexJinjaForever, and KaimelartheDreamer for the reviews. In probably the only instance I'll respond to a review, believe me, I am REALLY far from over with this fandom. Just as a hint for the future, there is a likely chance of there being a sequel to this story (if only a really long oneshot), another possible oneshot, and my own favorite scenes of the story to be drawn with a friend of mine (again, all details will be out later).

Enjoy!

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She had been running silently along through the darkened corridors, hoping for another glimpse of Chase to guide her. Unfortunately for Jinja, she didn't get one.

"Ugh! This is ridiculous!" she said, looking around when she reached another intersection. This place was just one big labyrinth, probably to keep intruders out from the looks of that last trap that separated her and Dax. Taking a guess, she charged down another way. Speaking of which, she couldn't help but wonder where Dax was, but knew he'd probably catch up in a few minutes. She shook her head, trying to keep her focus on finding Chase.

"… Damn," she cursed when she got to a dead end. Backtracking, she reached an open corridor, looking for another path to take. There were a variety of staircases and walkways that led up and around, but it was hard to tell where they actually led, if anywhere at all.

"_What's wrong?"_

She stopped, then turned towards the shadows of the hall, recognizing that voice. Sure enough, a teen with a familiar red jacket stepped out with a blank look.

"Oh jeez you're here," she said, sighing heavily. She wasn't sure how, but Six was here somehow. She briefly recalled how Hargrave mentioned the teen wandering around here, but it was a little hard to believe that he got into the ruins as well. In fact, it was a little too convenient.

"Stop right there," she demanded when he took a step forward. She remembered what happened the last time she let her guard down to someone familiar, and wasn't about to make the same mistake. But there had to be a way to tell this was the real Six...

"Show me your core," Jinja said. He raised a brow, but dug in his pocket and pulled out a red core, though the color was a bit dull. But it was the core nonetheless. She let out a sigh, then looked up, "So what do you want? Looking for Chase still?"

Sheepishly, Six looked to the ground and shifted a little, "Not… exactly."

Jinja raised a brow. The last thing she needed was Six tagging along if it meant him trying to challenge Chase again. She turned to him with a hand on her hip, "So what the heck are you running around in the ruins for then? I doubt its for a midnight stroll."

"Well… I still want to find him. But…" Six stammered a little, then looked up, "I want to ask him about the woman in white."

"Woman in white?"

"She's here in the ruins somewhere. I've spoken to her before yesterday," Six explained, not missing a beat, "I saw her come into the ruins just a few minutes ago. That's why I came here. I was following her."

"Oh really?" Jinja asked suspiciously, "What did she look like?"

"She wore white, and had brilliant blue eyes and long brown hair."

Jinja gasped. Was he talking about Chase's mother? But how? The only ones who've spoken to her were Chase and Beyal, but even then that was through visions. And she doubted that Six, a clone, would possess any form of monsuno sight considering Klipse didn't seem to have it. But there was also the option that it was one of the cloaked people from before. It was possible that someone was running around looking like Chase's mother. In which case-

"They're after Chase!" she exclaimed, making Six jump a little. Not bothering to tell him, Jinja took off into another direction in hopes of stumbling upon Chase. No wonder the original monsuno said to be careful with Chase in the ruins. It was probably a trap by the Hand of Destiny to lure him here. Jinja couldn't help but pick up the pace a little, knowing how much the raven-haired teen would do anything for his mother. Especially if it involved the Hand. She stopped at a three way path, noticing that Six was trailing behind her silently. She picked a path and started running again.

"By the way," Six said, easily keeping pace with the red-haired girl, "Did you figure things out with that other boy? The one that made you flustered the other night?"

Immediately, Jinja's cheeks heated up and she came to a stop.

"He-That-It's none of your business!" she stammered, folding her arms and looking away. She quickly glanced over to the other, taking note that he legitimately looked curious, and not in the gossipy way that Bren usually was. Jinja shook her head, "Besides, what is it that you want to ask Chase about the woman? Did she say something to you?"

This time, Six was the one who shifted a bit where he stood, "Well… To be honest… She was looking for him."

Jinja put a hand to her chin in thought. That means it could've easily been someone from the hand trying to look like her, especially if it meant getting a hold of Chase.

"But," Six continued, "when I first saw her, she vanished right in front of me. Like a vision of some sort. And for some reason… She thought I was Chase at first."

Jinja gave him a confused look. So Six had probably seen Chase's real mother, but how was that possible? He didn't seem very in tune with monsuno sight, nor did he seem to even know what it was. Did that mean that Chase's real mother was here as well? Or was Six able to see her because of something else..

There was a shout somewhere nearby, and the two of them jumped. Jinja immediately recognized it, and started running towards it.

'Chase,' she thought, 'You'd better have not gotten into trouble again!'

HLP

Surprisingly, instead of falling into the endless abyss of the deep chasms in the ruins, Dax hit the surface of what was most likely the remains of the water from the lake. Even luckier, it was deep enough for him to land and float for a few seconds before realizing that he was still alive. He blinked dumbly for a moment, then kicked furiously to the surface, gasping for air when he reached it.

"Ugh… Good thing all this water was here," he said to himself, then looked up. It was far from the ruins, though the cliffs that touched the edges of the water was not too far. As he started to swim over, he noticed that there wasn't a way for him to get back up towards the main area. He could always scale the rock back up, but that would take too much time, not to mention how treacherous it looked-

"Oh! Look who it is!"

Dax immediately turned around to see none other then Klipse atop his monsuno, which was climbing its way over towards him. Knowing that there wasn't a point in running, Dax just watched silently as the man jumped onto one of the more level edges of the cliff.

"What're you doing here?" Dax asked. The older man shrugged.

"I made it very clear to all of you that I need monsuno energy," he sighed, "Not to mention all of the letters that I had delivered to you that talked about what I needed. Lucky for me that you all led me here."

"Really? Monsuno energy? Is that all you're here for?" Dax questioned. He knew that Klipse was a simple man, but played things like a game. Everyone was a piece on the game board, himself included. No doubt there was some other ulterior motive he had...

"Now now, don't be so uptight," Klipse said, then signaled his monsuno, "I'll tell you what. Lead me to your little friends, and we won't have any problems. In fact, I'll probably leave right afterwards anyway."

"I doubt that," Dax scoffed, folding his arms. Growing up in the area where Klipse was mainly stationed made Dax well aware of the fact of how deceiving Klipse was. Although, there was always the chance that he could use this as a way to get out of here and sneak away to find the others. Dax thought for a moment as the monsuno came down next to him. It Klipse hd summoned his monsuno out, then there probably wasn't too much time left for it to be out before it needs to be recharged. Meaning, he could get away at that moment.

"… Alright Klipse. You got a deal," Dax said casually, and hopped on. Klipse smirked at that, but followed along as his monsuno scaled the cliffs back up to the ruins. It wasn't long before they were dashing through the corridors searching for Chase.

"So what did you think about my little gift I gave?" Klipse said, staring ahead of them. Dax raised a brow, then remembered the various envelopes he received.

"I… lost them," he said truthfully, looking out towards the ruins. That much was true. Besides the latest envelope he threw away at the oasis, he had dropped the previous pictures somewhere in the past few days. Probably somewhere in the base. Unless...

"What a shame," Klipse said, chuckling a little, "I would've imagined you to be more careful about that type of thing. Oh well. It's your loss I suppose."

Dax's eyes narrowed at the man, but he didn't respond, and simply looked ahead. While he could've pressed the issue, there was no point. For all he knew, Klipse was just baiting him to get information (which wasn't too hard to believe). There was a part of him that wanted to ask about whether the information was true and that his mother was alive, but the man would probably use that curiosity against him. He was deceitful like that.

After a moment, Dax realized that Backslash had a set course of where it was going, hardly paying any attention to the other twists and turns as they rushed forward.

"Oi, Klipse. How does your monsuno know where to go?" he asked. The man chuckled under his breath, but didn't respond. Figures. But if he had some way of tracking down Chase, then it was better to just sit back and wait for the right moment to strike.

HLP

The three teens blinked with awe at how the monk had thrown the small hooded figure across the room with little effort. Both Tango and X-Ray were astonished by the action. Especially considering it was usually someone like Bravo who would be able to do that type of thing, not the small white-haired monk (who honestly looked like he couldn't hurt a mouse most of the time). But as soon as the black haired teen got up, brushing the attack off like nothing, they all knew this wasn't going to be an easy fight.

"Alright monsuno, "the person, or rather Exi, said taking a step forward, eyeing Beyal with enthusiasm, "_My move!"_

The teen charged forward, colliding with Beyal. This time, Bren was knocked off his feet from the amount of energy that was given off. Tango and X-Ray continued to watch with wide eyes, unable to do anything. Tango tried to stay motionless, knowing that struggling would just make it worse, though X-Ray did squirm a lot more then he should've been. The two fighting kept grappling each others hands until Beyal suddenly let go on one side, and brought up his free hand for another punch. Exi gasped when he hit his gut once again, but stumbled back instead of getting launched.

"_Stop fooling around already,"_ the other larger figure said, still holding onto X-Ray and Tango, who watched silently for the most part.

"Relax, Triah_," _the teen said, brushing himself off a little, hardly phased by his injuries, "we have plenty of time._"_

Suddenly, Exi turned to Bren, who immediately stepped back even more at suddenly being spotted. Tango immediately noticed that there was something primal in the boys eyes, flashing green with a strange delight. There was also something about the air around him that made her uncomfortable, as if he was getting more then enjoyment out of the fight. As soon as Exi laid eyes on Bren, Beyal stepped in between the two.

"… Interesting_," _the teen hummed, putting a hand to his chin, eye flitting back and forth between the two members of Team Core Tech, "No wonder you chose to follow Suno's group, monsuno._"_

Beyal, or rather the monsuno, didn't respond, and merely kept his eyes fixed on the teen in front of him. Without another word, the two were back at it. They were too fast for any of them to make out any moves, though Tango could tell that there was an immense amount of power that was being given off the two. They had moved more towards the far side near the other three, and Beyal had suddenly launched the small teen into the large, making him drop X-Ray and Tango. While the two cloaked figures fell in a pile, Beyal ran forward and quickly pulled X-Ray and Tango away and towards Bren.

"Y_ou little twerp! What are you doing?!"_

_"Who are you calling a twerp, no good-"_

"You two alright?" Bren asked, mostly from impulse. Tango looked over to her teammate, who just looked relieved to be free.

"Y-yeah. Think so," Tango croaked out.

"_The three of you need to get out of here,"_ Beyal said, then turned back as Exi and Triah detangled themselves, "_Now!"_

"Wh-where?" Bren asked. There was a shout, and Beyal ran forward again and stopped the smaller figure before he could reach them. Exi smirked, and the larger figure leapt over them and bolted towards the other three. Bren let out a squeak, but Tango stepped forward and threw something between them. Smoke instantly dispersed thought the room in a giant plume.

"_Trying this trick again are you?" _Triah shouted at them. Tango ran back towards the edges of the room, X-Ray trailing behind. They spotted a stairwell, and didn't hesitate to charge down it, leaving behind the others. When she glanced back, Tango could see the larger figure still pursuing them.

"Now what do we do?" X-Ray asked as they practically flew down the staircase.

"Not sure," Tango replied. The spiral staircase must've ran around the building, which meant that they could be running for a while. Luckily, it evened out into another hall with archways that overlooked the ruins. They didn't bother to admire it though, and kept running along the side. Tango could hear the one behind them, but knew glancing back for a single second could mean trouble.

"I don't think we're going to lose him soon!" X-Ray exclaimed. They were some of the most well trained personnel of S.T.O.R.M., but this person must've been superhuman to be able to keep up with them. Hell, even start gaining on them within a few seconds. Sure enough, someone collided with them from behind, tackling the two of them to the ground. On reflex, the two jumped up and away. The large person got up slowly, turning to them.

"Now we can make this easy for us all," he said lowly, "Stand down. I'm really not in the mood to deal with you children."

"Wh-who are you calling children?" X-Ray exclaimed. The two Strike Squad members took fighter stances, far from willing to go with this guy. It was fairly obvious that if they did go with him, they would be far from alright. That and a horrible feeling was practically oozing off this guy and the smaller figure from before (though Tango wasn't sure if that was just her imagination or something else).

The larger sighed loudly, "you're not going to make this easy are you? The last thing I need is to rip you apart to where the Hand can't use you. And believe me, I'm not willing to hold back!"

With that, he surged forward. On instinct, Tango jumped to the side, taking X-Ray with her as they narrowly avoided the guy. Within a split second, he balled his fists together and slammed them onto the ground. With inhuman strength, the whole hallway quaked, making the two fall to the floor. Before they could blink, he grabbed hold of their throats, pinning them to the ground. They immediately tried prying his hands off, kicking freely. When she glanced down, Tango let out a gasp to see they were both being held by two black tentacles coming from the person's sleeves. So Alpha wasn't going crazy from before!

"Oh my, what a shame," he sighed at their struggling, "I don't think I have the patients to keep watching over you two brats. Especially if you're going to be this much of a handful."

Without another thought, he started dragging them over towards the open archways that overlooked the ruins.

"You could take a guess as to what I'm thinking if you want," he said, looking over. Instantly, Tango palled at the sight of how high they were. He wouldn't…!

"_I'm guessing that you're going to let them go!"_

Before any of them could react, someone went charging straight into the larger man. Within the small time frame, Tango saw a flash of red hair before they and the larger went over the side of the building. Her eyes widened as the grip around her and X-Ray's necks was loosened and they were released. But the two were both bolting to the side where the two others fell off.

"Alpha!" they both shouted. Relief flooded their senses when they saw their leader barely hanging onto a ledge not too far down. He grinned up to them.

"H-Hey! Hope I'm not late!" he said, trying to laugh a little. He scaled back up enough for them to pull him up, though none of them even dared to look back out considering how high they were (Tango couldn't feel more relieved to know they wouldn't be anywhere near the edge again).

"What're you doing here?" X-Ray asked, "I thought you were with the other monsuno outside."

"I was. Until this weird guy in red showed up," Alpha explained, "He ran inside looking for Suno, of course. I was going to go after him. Except…"

"Except?"

"I heard something… But… Kind of not," the red-haired teen scratched the back of his neck, "I'm not sure how to explain it, but it was more like an urge to come here. A feeling if anything. When I got near this place, a path lit up and I followed it. There was a bright flash and suddenly I found myself downstairs."

"Ugh! This place is too weird!" X-Ray exclaimed, then immediately quieted down, "do you think that guy fell to the ground?"

They all exchanged looks before peeking out the bottom could be seen, though the person from before was nowhere in sight.

"I doubt it," Alpha said. Just then, there was a shift in the air. Tango instantly turned back to the stairs that led up, knowing something was happening up there. She silently glanced to the others, all nodding. They took off back to the top, unsure of what was going on, but knowing that it couldn't be good.

* * *

A/N: Review Review Review!


	44. Chapter 44

A/N: Thanks to ChasexJinjaForever, monsuno power, and KaimelartheDreamer for the reviews!

Enjoy!

* * *

"…Well? Who are you?" Chase repeated, eyes not wavering. He kept his hand clenched around Locke's core, feeling it hum. His mother opened her mouth to say something, but hesitated and dropped her gaze to the ground.

"I'm guessing you're actually one of them, right?" he said, "one of the four from the cave. Or are you one of the five from the Hand of Destiny?"

She bowed her head even more, hunching inwardly as she clenched her hands towards her chest. Her shoulders started to tremble, and she let out a choked sound. Chase felt uneasy, thinking that she was now sobbing from the looks of it. The feeling only arose as he realized that she was actually giggling. Finally, she raised her head, cackling loudly.

"I told them it wouldn't work," she muttered, eyes growing narrow as she stared at Chase, "at least you're here. That's all that matters!"

Chase took a step back, debating whether to take a run for the stairs. But there was no telling how much of a threat these people were if they needed him. He gulped a little, "So who are you? And why do you look like my mom?"

She didn't respond, and instead started to walk calmly over to him.

"St-stay back!" he exclaimed, holding Locke's core out in front of him in some sort of defense. She stopped once it came into view.

"You do know that thing won't work here," she sneered a bit, then quickly slapped his hand away. Before he could react, she took hold of his other arm and started to drag him down the stairs.

"W-wait!" he said, struggling to get out of her grip, which was surprisingly strong. He stumbled a bit as they quickly traveled down the stairs, almost tripping as they did. "Let go! Or I'll-"

"You won't hurt your own mother would you?" she purred with a smirk. He clenched his teeth in anger, but knew she was right. Even though he knew this wasn't really his mother, she was the exact same image that he remembered from his visions. Or maybe it was really her and she was just being controlled. In which case fighting her was definitely out of the question.

They got to the bottom of the steps, stopping for a brief moment before they went in the direction towards the edge of the ruins.

"Wh-where are we going?" Chase said, continuing to struggle. She glanced quickly at him, then looked forward.

"You're going to help release the seal," she said, "whether you want to or not it doesn't matter. You'll do it regardless."

They got to a circular clearing, tall buildings surrounding them. She pushed him towards it, and immediately the ground lit up for a brief moment before the center sank down to reveal another staircase. Chase raised a brow somewhat amazed. These types of places always had some sort of secrets, and these ruins seemed to especially have them.

Wordlessly, his 'mother' walked forward, taking his arm again and dragged him over. Out of curiosity, he decided to go along with it. If he could get her to drop her guard, then maybe he could find a way to escape. He would have to be smart about this.

The stairs weren't lit, and went down into the shadows, making Chase wonder how deep it went. Once they got out of the light, she raised a palm, emitting a faint green light.

"Maybe if you find out how to use your monsuno sight you could do this too," she chuckled, "_if _you survive this."

He pursed his lips. Just what was going to happen if they released this last seal? Sure they have already done it to three, but if this was the main one, would the other two not matter? And what would happen to the rest of his friends? And the monsuno with them? If the Hand of Destiny gets a hold of the energy, then would they go after his father next? He took a deep breath, knowing that he would have only a few seconds to figure out what to do.

They reached the bottom, entering a large empty chamber held up by arches throughout. The two of them walked forward, reaching the middle. She pushed him ahead again, though nothing happened.

"Now just stand there," she said, then put her hands together in what looked like a type of prayer. The second her eyes were closed, he bolted to the exit.

"_Chase!"_

A loud ringing suddenly shattered the silence, and Chase let out a gasp of pain as he heard it. He gripped his ears, not sure where it was coming from nor how to stop it.

"Where… Where is it…?" he rasped out, falling to his knees. The room, as faintly as he could see it, started to spin a little. He flinched when he turned to look back, and was surprised to see her still standing normally.

"Painful isn't it?" she said, casting a weary glance at him, "You see, the bond you have with Sophia Suno is quite powerful, though the Hand has always had trouble trying to find you through it." She laughed a little, "Too bad I was made, otherwise you'd probably have had a chance to rescue her."

"Y-Y-you…" he stuttered out. She frowned, then let her eyes drop from him, "W-what are... you…?"

There was a moment of thought, as if debating what to say. He tried to stand, but knew that it would be impossible. He grit his teeth, trying to brace himself against the pain as he fell. It was only when she spoke again did he glance up.

"… I… suppose it won't matter in the end if I tell you. Someone ought to know..."

He rose to his hands and knees, trying to steady his breath as the waves of pain came in steady enough for him to listen. She turned around to look at him, but didn't move.

"I was once like her," she said," Sophia… I remember being in the same cell. Everyone was in the same cell. It was dark, and we weren't allowed to look outside of the suits the Hand had placed us in… Nor were we allowed to speak, otherwise they assumed we were conspiring against them."

"A few years ago, Core Tech had finally developed enough to where they were understanding monsuno energy. The Hand knew this, and it was only a matter of time before they too got a hold of that type of technology. But it wasn't Core Tech they were after. They wanted something more powerful… something more powerful then regular monsuno."

"The shapeshifter… monsuno," Chase huffed out, knowing exactly what type of power those cores they encountered the Hand, they were barely getting away alive. She nodded once.

"You see, they didn't have the resources of Core Tech, they had us. Users of monsuno sight. People who could harness the energy directly if necessary."

Chase gripped his chest, feeling the pain traveling through his body now.

"Sophia was one of the strongest users," she continued, ignored his pained moans, "I was paired with her in the experiment. After it was successful, I could feel the monsuno sightI had amplified. I could hear her thoughts, her cries and messages she tried to get out to you and your friends."

"That's why you can feel it," she said, tapping the side of her temple, "I have a direct link from you and Sophia. I let you hear what she wanted, like a type of filter. But that also means I can do this!"

The pain became unbearable, causing Chase to collapse on the ground as he screamed out in pain. His eyes shot open, trying to find some sort of way out, Locke's core held uselessly in his hand. He finally recognized the pain was also from the other day when they were all in the S.T.O.R.M. base, except this time it was a hundred times worse.

"B-but why tell... me?" he shouted. Her face darkened immediately, hesitating once again.

"… I have forgotten my name, my face. Everything that was me no longer matters... Not when I have to look like _her_! Not when I have to _feel _what she feels!" she said sadly, then looked up with crazed eyes, "as long as one person knew about who I am. Who I really am. Then maybe I won't cease to exist! Even if you die here, you take our secret with you!"

She let out a mocking laugh again, then stalking over to him. He tried to move, but felt pain shoot through his body as soon as he tried to move. She grabbed the back of his coat, dragging him over to the center once again. She stepped away, knowing that he would be too weak to try and move. She placed her hands together once more, muttering something under her breath. The floor lit up with a large, circular design. The blue light was faint, but casted shadows against the columns around them. Chase struggled to crawl, but felt pain course through his body every so often that would make him stop.

"Don't bother," she said, "In fact, if you behave, I'll _personally_ take you to see your mother. That is, after I hand you over to the Hand."

"_How about I personally kick your ass!"_

A resounding hit echoed throughout, and the pain in his head subsided enough for Chase to glance up. Jinja was standing where he had last seen his 'mother', who was now on the ground a few feet away. The red-haired girl shook her hand a little, letting out a sigh.

"Ugh! I needed that," she said, then looked over to Chase, who was slowly rising to his feet," You okay?"

"Y-yeah," he said, though that was far from the truth. He felt exhausted, like all his energy had been drained out of him. His muscles ached, and he could feel a headache coming on. Shaking his head a little, he walked over to Jinja, "What're you doing here?"

She huffed a bit,"I'm here for you, you idiot. Stop running off like that!"

Chase's ears went a little red, and he mumbled an apology. He cast a weary glance to his 'mother', taking note that Jinja had knocked her out cold.

"… Wait. Did I punch the fake from the Hand of Destiny, or your mom?" Jinja said, a little horrified. Chase chuckled a little.

"No. She was definitely a fake. Though I did think just for a moment that it was really her," he said, eyes lingering on the unconscious woman's form before turning back to Jinja, "So is it just you? Or is everyone else here?"

"Bren and Beyal went to go find the seal with the Strike Squad. Me and Dax were the ones to come after you, and then I saw-" Jinja stopped for a moment, glancing around the room as if to look for someone. Chase raised a brow, but Jinja quickly shook her head, "Anyway, me and Dax got separated. However…"

"However?"

_"However he won't be joining us!"_

The two off them both whipped around to the entrance to see someone else standing by the staircase. Once they stepped closer to the circle of light, the two gasped to see another red-haired girl. Immediately, Chase flinched away from the Jinja he was standing next to. The one on the far side of the room laughed darkly.

"Relax, Suno. That's really your friend," she said, the frowned, "This was meant to be a surprise. But she arrived before me, not that it matters much seeing that you're going to release the seal anyway."

"What makes you think I will?" Chase said defiantly, "There's nothing you have that can-"

The pain came back in one sharp wave, and he let out a gasp, clenching his head between his hands. Jinja was instantly at his side.

"Chase? What's wrong?"

Her voice was a bit drowned out by the loud ringing. He slowly looked up towards the other two. His 'mother' had risen, casting a dirty look at him and Jinja. The fake Jinja stalked over to her, frowning deeply.

"I thought you'd be able to take care of this, Tesserah," they said, then pinched the bridge of their nose, "but since you're being influence by Sophia I guess that was to be expected."

"It's not my fault the other one showed up," the other fake said, standing up, "You were supposed to keep an eye on the others, which clearly you haven't seeing that you don't have the monsuno with you."

"Exi and Triah are taking care of that," the fake Jinja said, then turned to face Chase, "Now. Where were we?"

HLP

"_Trying this trick again are you?" _Triah shouted at them. Bren could hear X-Ray and Tango running off towards the back, most likely finding another way out. As he got to his feet, he tried his best to look through the smoke to find them, but soon found that wandering blindly wasn't the smartest idea, especially considering he could wander straight into the enemy.

"_Triah just take care of those three already. It's not like I need your help anyway,"_ Exi dismissed. The larger cursed under his breath, and footsteps soon followed after X-Ray and Tango. He had probably assumed that Bren was with them, seeing that no one had confronted him. Some of the smoke started to clear, and Bren stumbled behind one of the columns so that he wouldn't be seen. Once it did, he could see Beyal and Exi on opposite sides of the room, staring each other down.

"Heh...They're out of the way now monsuno. Hurry up and get out of that body," Exi sassed, "As much as I love testing my strength, I would much rather fight the real thing."

Beyal didn't respond leaving them in silence. Exi pouted a bit, then looked around.

"I'm really not interested in fighting the monk," he said, glancing at the marks of light before turning back, "I'm suppose to leave at least one of you alive. And the Hand would probably prefer him or Suno."

Bren gulped at the comment. Whoever this was clearly didn't care much about anyone other then the monsuno. Exi tapped his foot on the ground, then took two steps forward before jumping in the air at Beyal. He swung his leg, barely getting it blocked. Not hesitating, he swung his other leg, scoring a direct hit to Beyal's side. The monk hit the ground hard, but quickly got to his feet as Exi started to swing swiftly at him.

The two fought for a while, each exchanging blows every few seconds. Bren ducked behind the column as they did, glancing quickly at the Core Tablet. He cursed under his breath when it was still showing static. Putting it back, he bit his lip. There had to be a way to get a signal to Chase and the others, wherever they were. He pulled out Neo-Quickforce's core in hopes that maybe it had returned to normal by now so that he could spin it out. Surprisingly, the color had returned, though there was something off about it. Maybe it was because of where they were, but it almost felt like he was holding his first monsuno again...

There was a shout, and Bren looked again to see Beyal had backed the other into the wall. Before he could get another punch in, Exi kicked him back, making him fall to the other side of the room so as to catch his breath. Curious, Bren peeked out to see the cloaked figure had bruises along one side of his face. Exi took a step, then spat a bit of blood to the side, wiping the bit off by his mouth with the back of his hand. Beyal sat up, looking much better then the other. There were only a few grazes on his cheek, as well as his hands where he punched. However...

He struggled to get to his feet, knees shaking a bit. Bren gave a worried look, then gasped in realization.

"You can tell can't you," Exi said out loud, looking briefly over to where Bren was, "I can see you so don't bother trying to hide. It's not like you can do anything anyway."

Bren tensed a litte, but could tell that this guy really didn't care about any of them other then the monsuno. He took a steady breath as he faced the other before speaking, "What do you mean?"

"Who else would I be talking about?" Exi sighed, then raised a hand towards Beyal, "it's obvious that the monsuno can't stay inside that body for much longer."

Sure enough, Beyal fell to his knees, barely holding himself up. Immediately, Bren ran over. Strangely, Bren noticed that his core had gotten immensely brighter then before, but quickly shook that thought away as he tried to figure out what to do. He could hear slow footsteps approaching them, but didn't look up.

"Though to be honest, I'm not really surprised seeing that he picked a fight with me," Exi shrugged, "I can take energy from anything I come into contact with and give it back hundred times as powerful. I was the last key to the Hand perfecting their shapeshifter cores!"

Bren frowned at the other's boasting, but stiffened a bit. No wonder this guy was able to get right back up after every hit. He was probably absorbing every punch and kick without a second thought.

Did that mean these people were experiments from the Hand of Destiny? No wonder the shapeshifter monsuno were as powerful as they were. Every time they had a fight with them, Team Core Tech would only barely get away. Was it even possible for a human to come into contact with monsuno energy without some horrible effect happening? Were these people… even human?

"Anyway, I'll tell it to you straight: Either let me force that monsuno out or watch the monk die. It's that simple," Exi said, then scratched his cheek a little, "Or I could just kill you both anyway and watch the monsuno come out. Though the Hand probably wouldn't be too keen on that idea, and its a little too messy for my taste..."

Bren froze. Would that happen? Would the monsuno really do nothing about this guy? Or was Exi going to take them both out without a second thought. Beyal was breathing heavily now, and looked close to fainting. Bren knew he couldn't defend them, even if he tried. And there was no way to tell if he could call out a monsuno, and making any hasty move could just make things worse.

His hands clenched into trembling fists. What was he supposed to do? Chase and Jinja weren't here. And if he didn't do something, then this weirdo would no doubt make the monsuno energy worse by releasing the seal! Not to mention what would happen when that other guy comes back.

'… I'm so useless,' he thought, feeling his eyes welling up with tears of frustration. 'Even in the base… I couldn't do anything! All I ever do is stand on the sidelines…I can't even use my monsuno right now!'

The footsteps were close, stopping once he was only a few feet away as Beyal finally fell to the ground unconscious.

"Doesn't matter to me," Exi shrugged, "I'm taking that monsuno either way!"

Bren took a shaky breath, trying to calm himself enough, and stood in between him and Beyal. Exi raised a brow, then burst into laughter.

"_I already told you I'm not interested in fighting you humans," _he said. Bren gulped, but stood his ground. Exi raised a brow, "_You do know I could easily crush your bones or throw you straight out of the building."_

That wasn't an empty threat. The look the other was giving Bren was full of malice, and Bren felt a cold shiver go down his spine as he locked eyes. He stood firm though, one hand clenched into a fist and the other clinging onto Neo-Quickforce's core. The monsuno stirred inside it, and he let out a small gasp as he felt a string of warmth come from it. Suddenly, his fear was slowly being replaced by something else. Something that Chase had taught him a while back.

Once long ago, he met Chase for the first time when their parents took them to a park near their homes. They were younger, Bren barely remembering much from then. During one incident, a few of the kids from their school had decided to try and pick on Bren when he was alone. After running throughout the park, he finally found Chase, who proceeded to knock more then a little sense into the bullies. He could remember cowering behind one of the benches as Chase single handedly tussled with the children until their parents came by. He had meant to thank Chase, but even that was too much for the shy boy at the time.

Courage. Something that Chase was well aware of. Bren couldn't help but chuckle under his breath a little at the memory of the two. Exi raised a brow.

"What're you laughing about?" He asked, a bit annoyed. Bren shook his head lightly.

"I'm not even sure," Bren responded, looking down a little at the core in his palm, "This isn't like me to be honest. I was never one to fight. But…" He looked up, eyes confident and lips flashing a smile, "I won't back off. Not when my friends need me!"

For some reason, Exi froze at that comment. His eyes widened a bit, and his hands curled at his side. His shoulders started to tremble as his hair shielded his eyes for a moment. He started to rapidly say something under his breath. Before Bren could react, he charged forward with a frightening cry. Even with the other surging forward, Bren stood sturdily, bracing himself for what was to come.

The next moment seemed to happen in a slow blur.

Exi wound his arm back for a punch, sprinting full speed at the two. As soon as he got closer, he pounced into the air straight towards Bren. Before either of them could blink, out of nowhere Bren saw a shield of light flourish in front of him. The other teen cursed, and was cast far across the other side of the room in a flurry of blue, crashing into one of the columns and bringing the whole thing down on himself. Bren stared ahead wordlessly, and let out a gasp as he recognized the shield. There was shift behind him, and he turned around slowly, well aware of that warm feeling he had was now all around. His eyes instantly widened at the sight of the winged beast in front of him. Wings spanning outward as it huffed a bit, casting blue light all around through its body.

"Q-Quickforce!?"

The monsuno let out its familiar cry, making Bren's eyes wheal up with tears a bit. Blinking quickly, he could see that the monsuno wasn't solid like before, more like a image or hologram, made up of blue light. A breeze stirred Bren from his thoughts, and he turned back to the center of the room to see energy coming from it again. The marks in the room slowly turned white, illuminating the room in bright light once more. Soon, Bren had to shield his eyes, from both the light and the waves of energy that were being given off.

"Wh-What's going on?!" He shouted out loud. With a split second, the air seemed to change drastically, and the energy grew violent, nearly knocking Bren off his feet once again. He looked to the center before he heard a groan. He looked over to see Beyal getting up a little, and he stumbled over to him, careful not to fall from the gusts of energy. As Bren knelt beside him, Beyal looked up with a confused look.

"… Bren? What's going on?" he asked, then quirked a brow, "And why are you crying?"

The brown haired teen blinked quickly before wiping his eyes quickly with his sleeve. He hadn't realized that a few tears had started to roll down his cheeks, and blushed a little.

"N-no reason," he croaked, then glanced at the spot where he had seen Quickforce. Was that just a hallucination?

"What's going on?" Beyal asked, looking around. His cheeks were no longer red, and seemed much more awake now then ever.

"I'm not sure. Some people from the Hand came up to try and take the monsuno. But then…" Bren trailed off, eyes still locked onto where he had seen Quickforce. Another burst of energy stirred him from his thoughts, and the two looked over to see the middle of the room still producing said energy.

"What do you think is going on?" Bren asked, "Did the monsuno do something? Did it remake the seals just now?"

"I'm not sure, but there's-" Beyal stopped, and had a blank look on his face for a moment. Bren raised a brow, guessing that the monsuno was coming back to tell him in person. The monk, however, quickly looked around, panic starting to arise.

"What's wrong?" Bren asked, also looking around. He could still see the boy Exi had not come out of the pile of rubble on the other side of the room, so there was no immediate danger from that side. The brown haired teen looked back when he saw Beyal shake his head slowly.

"The… The monsuno," he muttered, staring down at the floor with wide eyes, "I-I can't feel it anymore!"

* * *

A/N: Review Review Review!


	45. Chapter 45

A/N: Thanks to ChasexJinjaForever, TacticianLyra, KaimelartheDreamer, and monsuno power for the reviews.

Also warning, this and only this chapter is rated M for violence and character death. (I was listening to Orochimaru's theme and got super inspired for the action scenes).

Enjoy!

* * *

"Don't take another step!" Jinja shouted, standing in front of Chase as the- well- other her started to approach. She wasn't sure exactly what was happening when she arrived and saw Chase being coaxed by another person who looked extremely like Mrs. Suno, but knew that they were probably involved with the Hand. She was a little surprised that Six had ran off somewhere without a trace, but that didn't matter at the moment. Her fake raised a brow, and started laughing.

"Oh please," they sneered. Before she could react, they rushed forward, scoring a hit straight to her gut. She gasped in pain as the fake gripped onto the front of her jacket and threw her over into the center of the room. "Now, Tesserah!"

Chanting started up again, and the floor below her started to glow brightly. Jinja got to her hands and knees and looked up in time to see Chase being thrown in as well. She shuffled over to him as he continued to moan in agony. Suddenly, jolts of pain coursed through her body and she let out a strangled cry. She looked up with eyes blazing. Her fake, however, merely looked down in contempt and a cold stare.

"Although the seal has been weakened," the fake said, turning back to the other, "I imagine using the two of them should be enough to break it."

"But… Will Suno be alright? I haven't held onto his mind for such a long period of time before," the fake Mrs. Suno said, who Jinja was assuming was another shapeshifter.

"That's why were using two of them," the Jinja fake shrugged, "And even if they expire, we still have those other three that Exi and Triah are after."

Jinja clenched her teeth, trying to fight against the pain that coursed through her body. There had to be a way out, otherwise they and everyone else would be in trouble. She tried reaching down for a core, but felt her body going numb. Silently, cursing, she felt the last of her strength dissolve away as her vision went black.

HLP

"What?! Is it gone? It just left?!" Bren exclaimed against the bursts of energy now engulfing the room.

Beyal shook his head slowly, staring down at his hands, " I-I don't know! But... I can't sense it anywhere…"

As hard as he tried, he couldn't feel any waves of the energy from the original monsuno anywhere, even in his mind. Although it was a little difficult to do with the large amounts of energy now pouring out into the room (and the fact that he felt completely drained at this point), it was obvious that the monsuno was nowhere around. As if it had just vanished.

"Well…" Bren started, scratching his cheek lightly, "What should we-"

Footsteps were heard from the side of the room, and the two turned to see Tango and X-Ray reappear, along with Alpha. They looked around, noticing the large waves of energy and light that were in the middle of the room.

"What happened?!" Alpha exclaimed over the wind.

"We don't know!" Bren shouted back, "it just started to go crazy in here!"

The five of them glanced at the scene in front of them, unsure of what to do. Silently, Beyal started going over things in his head. From the amount of energy that was now surrounding them, he guessed that the seals were somehow released, but how? Did something happen elsewhere in the ruins? But then that could mean-

"Chase and the others!" he exclaimed, then turned to Bren, "we have to find them!"

Bren nodded without a second of hesitation, and the two of them started running back towards the stairs. The monk was stopped when a hand grabbed his arm.

"Hold on a second!" Alpha said, "where are you going? You're not just going to leave this place like this are you?"

Beyal looked back, then sighed. It was true that they shouldn't leave without at least trying to do something about the energy, but what could they do? The monsuno wasn't here to guide them, and who knew what would happen if they left this place unguarded...

"… Give me a minute," Beyal said, then sat on the floor. He crossed his legs and took a steady breath, closing his eyes as he focused on the energy all around. Even with the energy coursing through the room at an increasing rate, it was easy to feel his mind clear (though he could faintly hear Bren saying something). Only after what felt like a few seconds, he was thrust into the blue realm from before. He glanced around, waiting for a sign.

_"… Hello?" he asked, though wasn't sure how helpful it would be, "… Mrs. Suno? Are you here?"_

_There was no one around, and even the energy swirling all around seemed to to change into something more violent the longer he stood there. He thought he felt something, but it was obvious the woman was nowhere to be found. Did the Hand do something to her since the last time they spoke? Chase wouldn't be too happy about that..._

_"Beyal."_

_He let out a gasp, and quickly turned around to see a ball of green light approaching. It came closer and larger, and soon revealed a familiar looking old man with white hair and flowing robes._

_"Master Ey!" Beyal exclaimed happily. He hadn't seen his master in such a long time. The last time they spoke was at the temple before it was raided by S.T.O.R.M. and then One-Eyed Jack ended up..._

_Beyal shook his head as he tried to forget what had happened next, and instead focused ahead, "Master. What do we do about the monsuno energy? The original monsuno from before- I can't sense it anywhere, and something might of happened to Chase."_

_"I'm not surprised," the old man said, "I foresaw this as a possible outcome, but never thought it would be. If anything, I was hoping that Bekka would be able to assist with you all…" The old man shook his head, "For now, you'll need to remake the seals."_

_"But how do we do that?" the monk asked. The old man, closed his eyes in thought for a brief moment._

_"If the ones after you had indeed released the seals somewhere else in the ruins, then there's a good chance that you can remake them in the same way using monsuno sight. In fact, there is someone who is near your physical being this very moment that has the key actually."_

_Beyal nodded, then shifted a little, "How will we find the seals? It's not like I could go with everyone to point them out."_

_Master Ey looked outward, slowly fading back into light, "With them coming undone, they will most likely reveal themselves. But since you cannot wait that long, look to your monsuno for guidance. They will show the way."_

_With that, the old man faded away, leaving Beyal within that blue realm for a brief second before he slowly fell back into reality, as did the voices all around._

"-and it just turned into that!"

Beyal binked for a few seconds as he heard Bren's voice complaining. He glanced around to see him and the Strike Squad bracing themselves against the violent bursts of energy coming from the center of the room. The monk looked down at his core. Sure enough, the color was now back, and even brighter then ever.

"The monsuno," he said a bit silently, gaining the attention of the others. He looked over at them with a determined look, "Call out your monsuno and use them to look for the places to remake the seals.

They blinked dumbly for a second before taking out their cores as quickly as possible. They had probably seen the change as well based on their reactions, though Bren seemed to have mixed feelings.

"…Alright… But what are you going to do?" Tango asked a bit skeptical. Beyal bit his lip. What did Master Ey mean that someone else had the key? Was there something in the room, or maybe...

"Do… Do any of you…" Beyal started, then looked up, "Are any of you carrying something that is important? That possibly has some sort of monsuno energy in it?"

The three Strike Squad members exchanged looks, then turned to Alpha. The red-head frowned firmly, huffing a little.

"You have to give it to them Alpha," Tango said, crossing her arms, "the sake of the world is at stake here."

"I-I know that!" he stammered, "it's just that I thought it was a sign or something… That maybe I was meant to challenge Chase again."

Bren stepped forward, "So… What is it that you're talking about?"

"Alpha got a hold of the Crystal of Tav Kagah," Tango said shrugging. Immediately, Beyal and Bren gasped. Wasn't Chase's Dad supposed to have that? Did something happen to him? Chase was _really_ not going to be happy now.

"Well? Where is it?" Bren asked. Alpha, who was getting annoyed, finally held his hand out to X-Ray. The teen shrugged, though was a little reluctant to hand over the glowing orb.

"Wait. You had that this whole time?" Bren asked, eyeing it as Alpha handed it to Beyal, "Why didn't you say something?"

"Sorry that we were being chased by a psychopath throughout the building," X-Ray said, throwing his hands up, "you kind of lose track of minor details when your fleeing for your life!"

Beyal looked down at the glowing crystal. There was definitely a shift in the energy inside as he held onto it. Seeing that they were no longer needed at the moment, Alpha signaled the other two to leave. He however, stayed behind for a moment.

"I won't lie to you," he said to both Bren and Beyal, "After all this blows over and I see Chase. I'm not going to hesitate to challenge him."

"Of course you aren't," Bren said, rolling his eyes. Alpha pouted a bit, but ran after the other two. Beyal couldn't understand why he was so set on the ideal of challenging Chase, but maybe that's what rivalries were. He turned back to the middle of the room, a bit unsure of what to do with the energy wiping around them.

"Is there… A way we could find the original monsuno?" Bren asked hesitantly, "I mean. There has to be a clue on how to seal this thing up. And it's not like it could've just vanished-"

"_Oh I imagine that it did!"_

Immediately, the two looked over to the pile of rock where they had left Exi, who was slowly rising out. He was hunched over, coughing a bit as he got up and shook the rubble off himself. As soon as he stumbled out, he started stretching a little.

"Don't look surprised," he said, noticing their shocked expressions," I was one of the successful test subjects, of course I would be able to stand a few monsuno fights. Which is more then I could say for you, Triah."

There was shifting behind them, and before Bren or Beyal could react, something wrapped around their bodies, pinning their arms to their sides and holding them in the air a little as they let out surprised gasps. The two turned to see that it was the other cloaked figure stepping out of the shadows. It was only then that Beyal had noticed that what was curling around them were ink black tentacles that were coming out of the sleeves of the cloak.

"Shut it you little punk," the larger retorted, "I see that you have failed in capturing that monsuno. Not that I expected you to."

Exi huffed a little, crossing his arms, "It's not like it matters. The seals were released anyway. So I doubt the Hand will really need the monsuno-"

The whole building shook violently. The two figures ignored it however, and instead Exi stalked over to Beyal, arms still folded.

"Speaking of which, I'm guessing you have no clue where the monsuno is," he said, frowning deeply. Beyal kept silent. These people wanted the monsuno, and the last thing they needed was to have such powerful monsuno fall into the clutches of the Hand of Destiny. The black-haired teen frowned, then grabbed the front of Beyal's robes.

"Look here," he sneered, "I'll be straight with you. I don't care about what the Hand wants with the monsuno. Hell, I don't even care what they want with you. What _I _am after is that monsuno's energy."

"Exi," the other warned, "Don't act up right now. We still haven't completed the mission yet."

The smaller frowned, "The seals were released. We have, eh, one out of two of Suno's group we were supposed to catch. And I'm sure Ehna and Tesserah have probably caught Suno by now. I think that's a full days work."

"But that doesn't mean you can start going off on your own. If we get a hold of the last two Original monsuno, they are going straight to the Hand for their research-"

The room suddenly quaked even more, making the two stumble a bit. They quickly glanced around, though focused mostly on the center of the room, which had started to glow once again.

"The seal's about to break completely. We need to leave now!" Triah warned. Exi nodded, and went over to the remains of the column he was thrown into. He grabbed a large chunk of the column with both hands, and threw it at the wall. It quickly crumbled into pieces, making the room shake even more from the impact. Both Beyal and Bren could look out to see the ruins, though they were rather high up from them. Exi turned back around, green eyes darkened. Without another word, he stalked over to Beyal, falling a few steps short. He glared straight at him, Beyal frowned back, and tried not to look away from the malevolent stare. Exi scoffed, then marched over to Bren. Without missing a beat, he wretched the brown haired teen from the other's grasp, gripping tightly against the front of his jacket, and dragged him over to the hole he made in the wall. Beyal felt his heart drop.

Bren immediately tried to resist, but found it useless as he was soon hoisted into the air. With one hand, Exi held Bren outside the wall, glaring straight at Beyal the whole time.

"I'll give you once last chance monk," he said darkly, "either get that monsuno here, or your friend here will take a rather large tumble down these ruins!"

Beyal was silent, eyes wide with shock. He tried to say something, anything, but felt his voice not working. What was he supposed to do? The monsuno was gone, there was no doubt about that. And yet, these… people were willing to _kill_ for it. This was madness!

"H-hey! Let's talk about this for a sec!" Bren stuttered out, gripped tightly onto the arm holding onto his jacket front. He didn't dare look down, and kept his eyes shut as his feet dangled off the edge. Beyal growled a little as he stared back at Exi with contempt. He couldn't reach his cores because of the thing wrapped around his arms, and everyone else was somewhere in the ruins. Would they be able to get here in time?

"…Well? You going to say something monk boy?" Exi sneered, "usually I don't like this sort of thing, but you're really not giving me a choice-"

"W-wait!" Beyal stuttered. He quickly looked around, frantically trying to think off a way out or some way to help Bren. His mind, however, was drawing a blank. There was no monsuno. No one around to help. He could offer the Crystal, but even that was too much to wager. He had nothing.

"…No? Didn't think so," Exi said, sighing loudly. Without a second thought, he wretched his arm forward and let go of the front of Bren's jacket. Beyal let out a gasp, watching with wide eyes as Bren clung onto Exi's arm for dear life.

"H-Hey! Get off!" the teen said, trying to shake the other off. Bren shook his head quickly, now clinging on with both hands. Exi tried to kick him off, but missed every time, nearly falling off.

"Jeez you're incompetent," Triah scoffed, "Can't even dispose of the useless one."

"I'm… trying!" Exi snapped, finally throwing a clenched fist at Bren. Somehow, Bren maneuvered his body enough to barely step onto the ledge. He jerked to the side, avoiding the punch and surprising the other teen. As Exi had started to stumble off the ledge, Bren had a brief moment of relief as he let go of his arm hoping he was home free.

"BREN! BEHIND YOU!"

Exi caught hold of Bren's bag just as he fell away from the ledge. Bren had a brief moment of surprise before being filled with terror. Beyal watched in horror as he went tumbling off the side with the small cloaked figure, the two of them letting out cries of fear.

...

The room was still silent beside the energy whipping wildly around, now pushing some of the smaller debris around. Beyal kept his eyes on the spot where Bren had fallen, unable to even process what had just happened. The room felt smaller. Like everything was closing in. He felt faint, and could hardly breath. If it weren't for the tentacle holding him in the air, he would've collapsed to his knees in shock.

"Huh. Didn't think that idiot was _that_ much of an idiot," Triah said casually, strolling over a little, but not enough to look over the edge. When the larger had spoken, it snapped Beyal out of his daze.

"Oh well. Not much of a loss for the Hand with that one," the larger continued then turned around to Beyal. The monk barely heard the comments as he tried not to hyperventilate. But as hard as he tried to hope and think that everything was going to be alright, the image of the brown haired teen falling kept replaying in his mind. It felt just like the time the wild core bomb went off and he thought Jinja and Chase were caught inside.

Except Bren wasn't coming back.

And the others were no where to be found.

He was alone.

HLP

When she started to come to, Jinja noticed how her whole body ached. Taking a deep breath, she slowly rose, noticing that it was significantly brighter in the hall they were in. As her vision cleared, she looked up to see that she and Chase were now a few feet from where the center of the circle was. Except...

She let out a gasp. From the center was a beam of light that had shot through the ceiling and caused the whole room to collapse, leaving them in the middle of a crater in the ruins (how they managed to avoid getting crushed under the ceiling was beyond her). She struggled to rise as waves of immense energy was being given off the light.

A groan got her attention, and she looked down to see Chase coming to as well.

"Ugh… Jinja…?" he asked. She bent down to his side, nodding, "What… happened?"

She looked to the ground for a brief moment before turning to the beam of light, "I think the seal was released."

Chase's face went pale, and he looked forward as well. He took a steading breath before standing. His fist were shaking, as well as his shoulders.

"Thank you_ so_ much Chase!"

Jinja immediately whipped her head over towards the center of the room where her doppelgänger was now standing with a wide smile on their face, "We wouldn't have gotten this far if it wasn't for you!"

Another figure walked over towards the center, and the two could see it was the fake Mrs. Suno. She had a serious face as she looked to the ground, but didn't say anything. Jinja glared at the pair, knowing that they had failed in preventing the seals being released. Slowly, Jinja's eyes fell to the ground, hands clenching the ground. They had lost.

"Jinja! Chase!"

She raised her head a little to see Dax running towards them. She rose a little bit, but stayed kneeling on the ground. The lowlander came to a halt as he got close.

"What happened?" he asked, looking to them both. Neither of them responded, Jinja's gaze quickly going to the beam of light..

"It… It was a trap," Chase finally said, eyes still cast to the ground, "It was them the whole time! It's my fault…"

"Indeed, but I doubt whining about it will do you any good Suno."

Both Jinja and Chase snapped out of their dazes and quickly glanced up to see Klipse standing a few feet away, also looking at the large beam of energy coming out, eyes filled with glee.

"… Dax," Jinja said, not taking her eyes off the man," What are you doing here with Klipse?"

Dax scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, "Well… I had a little run in with the fake. He happened to help me out of a tough spot."

She blinked at him, but didn't bother to press the issue. It was useless to do that here with everything else going on. If Dax really was playing as a double agent again, they'll sort that out later. The three of them looked over to see Klipse now staring down the two fakes.

"… Why hello there Emmanuel Klipse," the fake Jinja said, eyes darkening, "Wasn't expecting you to be here."

"Oh I go wherever there happens to be monsuno energy up for grabs," he dismissed casually, "though it wasn't too hard to do with a mole helping me out."

Dax visibly stiffened at the comment.

"Well… Whatever," the fake continued, "you won't be taking this energy. It's for the Hand after all."

"And who's going to fight me? You? You don't even have monsuno!" Klipse mocked, snapping his fingers. A flash came down behind him, and rocks and dust were thrown in the air as Backslash hissed loudly, "I doubt a few children can take out a monsuno on their own."

The fake Jinja stayed motionless, eyes hardened. The fake Mrs. Suno, on the other hand, was more hesitant.

"Maybe… Maybe we ought to go," she said, not taking her eyes off the monsuno, "I really don't want to have to fight that… thing."

"Quiet Tesserah. This doesn't concern you," the fake Jinja snapped. Klipse glanced between the two, then snapped his fingers in realization.

"Oh I see. You're part of _them._ I was wondering why Jeredy's wife was here," he said, "Of course. That would be if you were the real Sophia!"

Without giving a warning, Backslash launched a beam of energy at the two. When it hit and the dust cleared, the two were standing a few feet away unharmed. They were fast. Would Klipse be able to take them on? Jinja held her breath as she looked back and forth between them all.

"it's fascinating actually," Klipse continued, "that you would be able to look exactly like someone else. I'm actually surprised that the Hand was able to perfect that type of technology for their monsuno. Too bad for you that _I've_ also been working on a little something."

The fake Jinja raised a brow before a ear piercing scream resounded throughout the area. Everyone turned to the fake Mrs. Suno to see Six, who had snuck up on them all undetected, had shot his hand _straight through her body._ Jinja let out a choked gasp as she fell to her knees in shock, eyes wide. On Six's hand was some type of metal gauntlet, though his gaze was cold and unreadable. The fake Mrs. Suno let out a pained cry, hands going to the glove that was piercing her torso.

"Again, I'll have to thank you for the information you gave me," Klipse said, now turning to Dax, "You see, while I am interested in finding monsuno energy, its useless in the end if I don't have some way to harness the energy. Those files you provided from Jeredy, while most of them useless, did have some bits of information about him extracting energy from that worthless failure Jon Ace. I just had to figure out a way to make it more… Compact."

Six wretched his hand back quickly, and the fake let out a gasp of pain, blood now turning their cloak even darker. Before she could collapse, Six grabbed a hold of her neck, making her shout unintelligible words as blood trickled from her lips.

"You're not her," he said darkly, grip tightening. Jinja held her breath as she watched the woman slowly started to become limp, desperately clawing at Six's hand to try and get it off. Did Six somehow know the real Mrs. Suno? How?

"Just as I thought," Klipse said, "you two are made of monsuno energy!"

Jinja blinked then looked over to the two fighting to see the wound that Six had given her was now glowing green and slowly dissolving away. The fake started to stand up again, though struggled against Six's grasp.

"B-Bastard…!" she choked out. The gauntlet Six was wearing suddenly started to light up. There was a whirling sound before the fake let out one last scream as she was consumed by a green light before Six finally let go. She stumbled for a brief moment, slowly dissolving away into bits of light.

"Ch-chase," she stuttered out, looking towards the raven-haired teen with a pained look, "I-I…"

She never finished. Instead fading into the green light that vanished into the air. They all stared silently were she had once stood. Jinja realized after a moment that she was holding her breath, and glanced quickly around. Klipse had an extremely smug and satisfied look while Six held a blank expression, now staring at the fake Jinja, who took a step back.

The silence was broken when Chase finally lost it.

"BASTARD!"

He bolted at Six without a second thought. Six was surprisingly calm despite the outburst, and turned to face Chase head on. The fake Jinja suddenly took off into another direction in an attempt to flee, though Klipse was quick to call on Backslash to follow them. Before Chase could get close, Dax had tackled him to the ground.

"Get off me!" Chase shouted, flailing around and trying to get out from under the other. Dax kept firm, and managed to pin Chase's arms down, "She knew where the Hand is. She knew where my mother is!"

"Calm down, Suno!" Dax said. Chase managed to get one of his hands free and attempted to punch Dax off. Six watched the two for a moment with a hollow look. He glanced over to where Klipse had left, and seemed to be debating of whether to go. Jinja rose from where she was, and felt something warm near her hand. She glanced down and saw her cores lighting up. She took hold of Charger's core, feeling the monsuno inside. It felt much stronger then before, and she felt her strength coming back.

She glanced up again when Chase had managed to kick Dax off and attempted to get to Six. Dax was just as quick to grab his arms and hold him back.

"Dax let go!" He continued to shout. Jinja could see the pain and confusion in his eyes. He knew that she was a fake, so what happened that made him snap?

All four of them fell silent when a white light started to form between where Six and Chase were standing. Six watched blankly as Dax edged Chase a few steps back. They all watched as it grew brighter and larger until a woman in white with long brown hair fluttered gracefully from it. She slowly looked up as the light around her formed a small circle. She smiled briefly at Chase before turning around to face Six.

"_I'm surprised you managed to do it," _she said. Six looked to the ground, "_When I told you to sever the bond between those two, I didn't think you would go that far."_

The other three were silent as Six nodded, but didn't dare speak up. Chase had strangely gone limp as he stared widely. Dax didn't seem to see her (which was odd for some reason), though he was on edge as he kept a firm grasp on Chase just in case he should try and fight again. Jinja was the first one to speak up as she took a step forward.

"… Mrs. Suno? The real one?" she asked. The woman looked over to the girl, and smiled. The presence she got from the fake wasn't there, and was replaced with a warm feeling. It was really her.

"_Because the seal's were released, The Hand's focus has now been diverted, but you don't have much time," _she said with a serious expression, "_You will have to remake the seals on your own."_

"But… How?" Jinja asked, still a bit hesitant to speak to the woman. She glanced over to Jinja.

"_Listen to your monsuno. You'll know what to do,"_ she said, then started to fade into the light again.

"W-wait!" Chase exclaimed, but was too late as the light consumed her and suddenly took off into the ruins. His eyes lingered on the spot where she was, and he slowly fell to his knees as Dax let him go. Six kept his eyes fixed on where the light had dispersed towards, then slowly walked over towards the corridor that Klipse and the other fake had ran down.

"H-Hold on!" Jinja exclaimed. Six glanced briefly at her from the side as she stared down at the gauntlet on his arm, "You're going after the other one with that _thing_ aren't you."

"… If… If it is what makes father happy. Then yes," he said reluctantly. He turned around to leave after Klipse, but lingered for a brief moment before he left slowly. Jinja watched as his outline faded into the shadows.

"… Okay, so now what? And what was up with that ball of light just now?" Dax asked, turning to her. She glanced down at Charger's core, then let out a small gasp. She could _hear_ something from inside. Not necessarily a voice, but it was clearly from the monsuno inside. She gave one last look at Chase and Dax before she walked over towards the column of light and energy that was the center of the room. She took a steady breath before walking as close as she could to it. The energy was now starting to come out intensely, nearly knocking her off her feet. Jinja looked down at Charger's core before holding her hand towards it, trying to reach out towards it.

* * *

A/N: Hey pplz. My friend finally got done with the cover art for the story (and sketches). Look her deviantart up under Ninjam117 (or tumblr of the same name).

Review Review Review!


	46. Chapter 46

A/N: Thanks to ChasexJinjaForever and KaimelartheDreamer for the reviews!

Enjoy!

* * *

Chase kept his eyes on the spot where his mother, his real mother, had disappeared. He had to take a steading breath as he sorted through all the thoughts going through his head at the moment.

When Six attacked the fake, all he could hear was her screaming. The outright pain and horror in her voice nearly drove him mad, and just the fact that Six had destroyed his last chance of outright asking for a way to find his mother made the situation even worse. He didn't care if the others would argue with him. All he could hear was her screaming, and there was only one way to stop it.

But then she was here. His real mother.

Strangely, Chase should've thanked Six all things considering. In some weird way, he seemed to know her (or had spoken to her at some point). Chase slowly rose from the ground, well aware of his outburst. He shook his head, knowing that they had more pressing matters at the moment, especially if his real mother had managed to avoid the Hand just to give them a message.

"Jinja! What are you doing?!"

Chase turned around to see Jinja trying to reach out towards the large column of light that was once the seal. She continued to stumble as the energy's waves started to become stronger.

"I can't explain why!" she shouted back as she slid across the ground for the fifth time, "But if I can get to the seal, then maybe there's a way we can remake it!"

He wasn't sure what was going on, but when Chase looked towards the direction that Klipse and the fake had run off in, he knew what he had to do. Without alerting the others, he took off down the corridor. The white light that seemed to be emitted from the rock of the ruins had dulled considerably, and only made Chase more anxious as he ran through the shadows of the halls. There was a large column of light coming from the largest ruin towards the tallest central ruin, which made Chase think that was the main one. At first he thought about going towards it, but then heard someone and came to a halt.

"… Stay back!"

He ran down one of the smaller corridors, following the voice and hearing a commotion coming closer. He peeked from around the corner to see the fake, still looking like jinja, staring down Klipse. Backslash was behind them, corning the person as Klipse let out a triumphant laugh.

"I didn't think it would be that easy to capture one of the Hand's best subjects," he boasted, "But that doesn't matter. As soon as my clone comes along, you'll be joining your friend in becoming pure energy. You'll be useful for another cause!"

The fake jinja scoffed, then crossed their arms.

"You seem very sure of yourself there old man," they said, then turned to face Backlash. The monsuno growled, and leaned back on its haunches as it prepared for an attack.

"Inferno Cannon!"

The monsuno didn't hesitate to launch beam down at the fake. Chase let out a gasp as the blast hit the ground and threw rocks and dust all around. He kept his eyes on the spot, but couldn't see the fake anywhere. He saw something move quickly up top, and saw they had somehow jumped high above and came down hard onto Backslash with a powerful kick. They hit right between the junction of its neck and shoulder blade, making the monsuno roar out in pain. It immediately collapsed to the side, and disappeared in a shower of red.

"With just a single kick… H-How?" Klipse stuttered, watching as his monsuno was called back from just one attack. The fake started to laugh again. As they stalked over to the man, Jinja's face started to morph away until a flash of green made it vanish. Chase was surprised to see that it was the face of a normal boy around his age, maybe even older, with brown hair and bright green eyes.

"You see Klipse, you're research is a little outdated," he said, voice going a bit deeper then Jinja's. Chase took another step forward out of curiosity. Klipse, on the other hand, took a few steps back as he stalked over, "Yes we are made of pure energy. But that doesn't mean we're as useless as you think!"

He surged forward, immediately jumping into a kick aimed straight at the man. There was another flash, and Six had jumped between the two, taking the blow straight on. The clone slid back a long distance from the force while the fake just stared for a moment. Six stumbled a bit as he tried to get up, but quickly fell to his hands and knees, gasping a bit in pain. The other teen then burst into laughter.

"Oh I see," he said, "since you're own research hasn't exactly been fruitful, you were probably thinking that the Hand was just as incompetent."

Klipse grit his teeth, glaring at the teen who mocked him. The whole area started to quake, making all of the ruins shake. Some of the more feeble ones even started to crumble away.

"Well. As much as I would like to stay," the teen said, turning his back on Klipse. "This place'll probably come down in a few minutes. If you make it out, I'll see you around!"

Chase watched as the other slowly walked off into the shadows without a second look back. He looked to Klipse, who was visibly seething with rage as Six slowly rose from where he was kicked. He winced at every other step, but tried to keep a straight face as he spoke.

"… Father?" he asked lightly, "Should we go after it?"

Klipse was silent, and briskly walked into the opposite direction of the other, not even bothering to respond or to signal Six to follow. Chase watched them for a moment before he took off after the other teen. Whoever they were, they knew where the Hand is. And probably was going there at this very moment.

Chase slowed down to a halt when he saw the brown haired teen waiting for him at the end of the corridor. He frowned, and took a few cautious steps forward until he could get a good look at him.

"So what is it that you want Suno?" he asked, raising a brow as he crossed his arms.

"I want to know where the Hand is," Chase said without any hesitation. He wasn't expecting a straight answer, but was willing to fight for it if it came down to that. He gripped onto Locke's core as the other chuckled a little, "… Who are you?… What are you?"

"Really? Are you so thick that you thought I would just give you such vital information?" the other asked, raising a brow. Chase was firm, and glared back.

"…Well. As for who I am, you may called me Ehna. The information on the Hand, however, is another matter entirely," the teen continued, "I could tell you… Or I could _show _you."

Chase was a bit surprised, but stayed on alert, "What do you mean?"

"I would think it obvious," the teen said, "You come with me and see where the Hand is. That shouldn't be too hard right?"

"As if I would fall for that. I think you should just tell me before Locke tears you apart," Chase threatened. He hoped it wouldn't come to that, but Locke could be intimidating enough just standing around. The other, surprisingly, just rolled his eyes.

"You still think you can spin out your monsuno?" Ehna said, "I'm sure you could, but would you want to chance it going berserk?"

Chase raised a brow, holding his core a bit uncertain, "What do you mean?"

"What I _mean,_ is that there is a reason that people have been having trouble controlling their monsuno," the brown haired teen said, looking around casually, "and if you'd like to risk your monsuno ending up like the others did a few days ago, go ahead and spin out."

Gripping onto Locke's core, Chase thought for a moment. He gasped a little when he remembered what happened to the Punk Monk's monsuno right after they saw the first cave collapse. Was that because of these guys from the Hand? Just what kind of power were they capable of? Even so, that wasn't a chance he was willing to take, and slowly lowered his core a bit.

"Now that that has been take care of," Ehna said, "Are you going to come along? Otherwise I'll just take my leave now."

The raven haired teen thought for a moment, looking to the ground as the corridor shook again, this time for even longer. This was so obviously a trap. But why? If their purpose was to release the seals, which they had done, why would they still need him? And why would this guy offer to show where the Hand was so casually?

"Why would you help me?" Chase asked. The other's shoulders slumped a little at the forward question, but answered nonetheless.

"Let's just say I get more then a little… Incentive if you come along back to the Hand of Destiny," he said vaguely, "They won't really need you there if the energy is released. And I would like to remind you that the seals and the ruins are going to collapse soon. So you would be free to get your mother and be on your merry way."

Chase frowned, but thought for a moment. What were the chances of him getting someone to show him the exact place of where the Hand of Destiny was? Seeing that he hardly had any leads as to where they could be, he was guessing slim. Now that he thought about it, this fake was probably the one who spoke to him as Drezz in the base, and they were trying to give him information about the Hand. Or was it another trick?

He snapped out of daze when the wall nearby burst into pieces. He quickly looked over to see that another beam of white light had shot out of the ground a few feet away. It was then that he noticed that there were three other columns of light that had also appeared throughout the ruins.

"We don't have much time Suno," Ehna sighed, then looked at him, "What will it be? I'm giving you a very free choice of being able to see your mother again. Wouldn't you want that?"

Chase looked back and forth. He could end this all just by going with him, but then what about the others? What about the monsuno energy? His hands clenched into fists, trying to figure out all outcomes.

He shook his head. No. He was not about to abandon his friends, or leave this place to be destroyed for the sake of the monsuno energy. He felt something in his hand, and looked down to see Locke's core buzzing away. He could almost hear it's call. He looked over to the beam of light, feeling Locke's core get warm in acknowledgment. Chase let out a sigh, and smiled over to the other, getting a confused look. It quickly went to horror when Ehna realized what Chase was thinking.

"Wait-no!"

With all his might, Chase charged towards the beam, feeling Locke getting stronger the closer he got. He had to fight against the bursts of energy as he got closer, but kept going regardless. Ehna's shouting was slowly being drowned out as he inched nearer and nearer. When his fingertips finally glossed against the light, all he could see was white as it burst with energy.

…It burned. His hand felt like it was on fire, and he let out a cry of pain. But there was also a feeling of strength coursing through his body. He remembered what this feeling was. It was the monsuno sight.

"_Chase."_

He gasped, then looked over his shoulder to see the image of his mother standing close by.

"_Hold on,"_ she said, "_Your friends are at the other seals. But you must remain strong! Just hold on!"_

He pushed forward even harder, feeling his own strength mixing with the monsuno energy. He could feel her presence next to him, giving him strength.

But he could also feel Locke. As if he were right next to him as well. It was then that Chase realized that Locke was taking up most of the energy for him, like a filter. The energy threatened to push him away, but he held fast, gritting his teeth as he kept going. He had to seal it. He had to keep everyone safe!

"… C'mon Locke!" he shouted, "W-We have to... Keep going! For everyone's sake!"

Locke's core grew bright, almost drowning away the white. Chase could feel the will of his monsuno casting back the energy, as well as his own strength holding up. He glanced back briefly to see if she was still there, but she had faded away. Despite that, he kept pushing. The beam of light flared up, nearly knocking him off his feet.

"I'm… I'm going to… protect everyone!"

With one last shout, he threw his all into the seal, his sight quickly going completely white.

HLP

"Get off!" Bren shouted, thrashing about as the raven-haired boy kept a hold on him. As he fell, Bren desperately clawed his bag away from the other's grasp. Exi just growled lowly, and lunged at the other as they continued to fall. Bren quickly glanced down to see the two of them plummeting towards the dark chasm below, and shut his eyes in fear, not caring that the other still wanted to fight. What a way to go. Falling into some pit of a random cave in the desert.

"Ge-Get out of here!"

Bren's eyes snapped open and he looked down to see the white wolf monsuno from before charging towards the two. It took one giant leap and grabbed a hold of Bren's jacket, making the teen yelp in fear. Exi reached out to try and get a hold of the monsuno's fur, but it lashed out instead, and he let out one last scream before falling into the shadows below.

The monsuno landed on the side of the tower, clawing into the rock so that they didn't follow the cloaked teen below. Bren clung onto the monsuno's mane, despite how uncomfortable it was to twist around with his jacket still snagged in its teeth.

"We… We're alive," he panted out, staring forward right into the monsuno's fur as it slowly let go of his jacket. Relief immediately flooded through him. When he was dragged out over the edge of the building, everything flashed before his eyes. The only moment that came so close to this one was when the very first wild core bomb had gone off and they almost didn't make it out of there. He took a breath, trying to steady himself as his hands shook. The monsuno let out a huff, and he looked up to see that they had started to scale up the ruin towards the top once again. Bren quickly glanced around, and saw a beam of light shooting out from the far side of the ruins. Maybe that's where the others were.

"H-Hey," he said out loud. The monsuno paused for a moment, giving him a sideways glance. Bren shivered a bit at the intimidating look, but continued, "Can you. Can you go towards that light? My friends are over there…?"

It gave him a blank stare, and turned back to continue climbing.

"Um… Can you hear me? I said we need to go that way-"

The ruins shook horribly, and Bren gripped tightly to the monsuno's fur as more columns of light appeared throughout. Besides the one that was already lit on the other side of the ruins, Bren could see four other ones appear, which he assumed were the other seals that were now coming undone. They probably didn't have much time left.

Without any notice, the monsuno suddenly charged up towards the top, nearly making Bren let go out of surprise. It opened its jowls and let out a burst of energy that ripped through the top. Bren let out a surprised squeak before hugging onto the monsuno as debris and rock tumbled down towards them. When most of it cleared, he looked up to see someone standing at the ledge where the hole from before was blasted. The monsuno continued its path, running up to the top until it was able to claw at the person, who Bren could now see was the larger cloaked figure known as Triah. The monsuno growled lowly as the cloaked figure dodged and stood silently on the other side of the room. Bren's eyes quickly swept around to try and find Beyal, and saw the monk lying across from them, most likely knocked out.

"You better stand down monsuno," the larger figure said, ripping off the sleeves of their cloak and removing his gloves. Instead of normal arms, green and grotesque fur surrounded his arms, extending into claws with green glowing stripes. For some reason, it reminded Bren of the Hand of Destiny's monsuno.

"Well? I take it that's a no," he said, then charged forward. The monsuno quickly swept to the side, and shot another blast out. Without hesitating, Triah slapped the blast away out towards the ruins, charging straight into the monsuno. Before he could react, the monsuno grabbed a hold of Bren's jacket again and threw him to the side as it was tackled into the wall. Bren let out a short cry as he rolled on the floor and away from the monsuno fighting (at this point, Bren could only assume that this other guy wasn't an actual person). The two burst through the wall, leaving half of the room still intact as they fell off the side. Bren quickly stumbled up and looked over to see the two had fallen some distance down, but were still somehow clinging onto the building as they continued to fight. He gulped a little at how quickly and easily the two were able to climb up and down as they fought.

He heard a groan, and looked over to see Beyal finally stirring a bit. Bren took one last look at the other two before running over.

"H-hey," Bren said a bit awkwardly as Beyal blinked a few times.

"… Bren?" Beyal asked lightly, still dazed as he tried to get up. Bren nodded and quickly covered his face as more dust swept through the remains of the room. He tried waving some of it away, but only made it worse.

"I… I thought you…" The white haired teen stuttered a bit.

"You're not going to get rid of me that easily," Bren chuckled a bit, then turned to the beam of light without a second glance, "We still have to remake the seals."

Beyal kept his gaze on Bren for a brief moment before looking to the light with an unreadable expression. According to the monk, they had to listen to their monsuno, but when Bren brought out his core, he couldn't hear anything. He could _feel _the energy pulsating inside, but other then that there was nothing (was this another monsuno sight thing?).

He jumped when there was an alarm going off, and then realized it was the Core Tablet. Quickly taking it out, he looked down to see it was working again. What he saw wasn't exactly reassuring, however.

"The energy is building up," he said, looking over the data,"it hasn't even reached max capacity. As soon as it does…"

"…What? What will happen?" Beyal asked when he didn't respond immediately. Bren shook his head a little.

"Let's just say we don't want to be here," he said, "So we better work fast!"

Beyal nodded, then held onto one of his cores as he closed his eyes. Bren could never understand how that communication worked (even when Chase did it, it freaked him out a little). Only a few seconds later did Beyal pull the crystal from his robe and stare down at the small glass orb intently. The energy started to flare up again, and Bren had to try his best to hold onto the floor to keep himself from being pushed off and out of the room.

The Core Tablet started to make more noises, and Bren glanced down to see it rising drastically. But there was also something else that caught his eye. There was something that was absorbing the energy in the room at an amazing rate. But what could it...

Bren looked up to see the crystal lighting up, now glowing blue. That was it! If there was some way to use it to diffuse the energy, maybe they could reach the seal in time-

A roar was heard over the beam of energy, and the two quickly turned around to see the other original monsuno trying to make their way into the room. All three were trying to claw and push through the hole in the wall. Bren stumbled back a bit as one came a little too close.

"They're still under the influence of the Hand," Beyal said, casting a weary glance at the hissing beasts. Bren shook his head, quickly remembering what he was going to say.

"We need to use the crystal!" He shouted as he turned back to the white-haired teen, his voice nearly being drowned out by the wind, "it's the only way we'll get close enough to remake the seal!"

Beyal nodded, and stood up. There was a knowing look in his eyes as he glanced back and forth between the orb and his core that he held in his hands. Taking a deep breath, the monk stepped towards the light that was now threatening to push the two completely out of the remains of the room and into the monsuno.

"H-Hold on a minute!" Bren shouted, trying to brace himself against the waves. He held one of his arms up as more dust and light started to toss violently around the room. He peeked out to faintly see Beyal's outline slowly getting closer to the center, though he struggled to walk. But whenever he got closer, the energy got even more violent. Bren heard something behind him, and could see the rest of the room crumbling away. And the monsuno slowly coming closer.

"We have to leave now! We'll never make it in time!" he shouted, but knew the monk wouldn't be able to hear him. As he turned back to the center, he could see someone else standing behind the white-haired teen as his fingertips barely came close to touching the column of light. Bren's eyes widened as he remembered seeing a picture of her. A picture Chase had always carried with him.

The woman glanced back at him with bright teal eyes very briefly before leaning down and whispering something into Beyal's ear. Whatever she said made the monk suddenly push forward, bringing up his other hand that held the crystal and pushing it towards the light. As soon as it touched, the column grew even brighter, nearly blinding Bren as he let out a gasp. The monsuno behind him started to shriek out, flinching away from the light.

He tried to look again and saw the energy suddenly burst outward, launching Beyal into him. Before he could react, the two were knocked through the hole in the wall and completely off of the tall tower. Bren let out a gasp as the spot that they had been standing on immediately erupted into a shower of rock and completely crumbled away.

The light also shot out to the three monsuno that were violently trying to rip him and Beyal apart a few minutes ago. Their features started to change, losing their grotesque features and becoming something new. He could hear the remains of the tower hitting the rest of the ruins below, the ground coming closer at a rising pace. Without hesitating, Bren grabbed onto Beyal, who was unresponsive, and braced himself for impact as his eyes clenched shut, truly prepared this time.

But then there was warmth.

Carefully, he opened his eyes to see the two were surrounded by some sort of large orb of light. He blinked, then noticed that something was circling around the orb as well as the remains of the tower was being pushed away from them. It lowered the two until they were close to the ground. As the orb dissolved, Bren let out a gasp to see that it was an enormous white serpent-like dragon that had protected the two of them. Bren gawked openly as it continued to protect them with its large bird-like wings hovering over them. He looked into its eyes, and found himself feeling strangely whole. Finally, he let out a gasp as he remembered the feeling from a few minutes ago when he saw Quickforce, and when Beyal had been possessed.

"Y-Your the last one," he said a bit quietly as he continued to stare, "You're the original monsuno from before."

If it could understand him, it didn't physically respond. But there was something in its eyes that spoke more then any words. It let out a howl, and a blue light appeared. Bren let out a choked cry as it slowly formed into the image of the monsuno he had from before. The graceful white beast surrounded them once more, the faint image of Quickforce kneeling closer down to the two. Bren could feel them moving, but kept his head bowed as he continued to grip onto Beyal. Maybe it was because of the monsuno's presence (or exhaustion), but being this close once again to one of the first monsuno he ever had was so wistful that it hurt.

"… No wonder I wasn't scared when you showed up all those times before," he said out loud, still unsure if it could understand him, "You… You are just like Quickforce…"

They landed again, even more gently then the last despite the shaking all around them. If he had to hazard a guess, the ruins were probably collapsing on themselves. He peeked up a little to see the monsuno retreating back towards the center of the ruins.

"Bren!"

He looked up to see Jinja and Dax running over to them, though Jinja seemed to be a lot more worn out as she nearly collapsed the second she got close. Bren could only sit there numbly as they started checking over the two. Jinja was saying something, but he couldn't quite hear for some reason as he looked up to watch the dragon monsuno take off towards the remains of the tower. As it dove into the column of light that slowly turned blue, he could've sworn Quickforce was still close behind it.

HLP

As the light faded away, the corridor shook even more and didn't stop at all. Chase blinked the spots out of his vision as he guessed whatever he had done had worked. He winced a little, and saw that the hand that he had touched the light with now had burns over it, as did the remains of his jacket sleeve. He quickly looked back to see that the beams of light had vanished, and the main one towards the center was now lighting up with brilliant colors.

"Fuck!"

He turned back to the other teen, who was staring hatefully at the scene, "I didn't think they would… Damn!"

"What? What happened?" Chase demanded, though he nearly fell over. He felt completely drained after touching the light beam, and felt compelled to just lie down. He pushed those thoughts out of his mind however, focusing on what could've happened.

"It seems that someone has remade those damned seals," Ehna said, then turned to Chase with a darkened gaze, "And I have a good idea who it could've been. Change of plans. You're coming with me regardless of how you feel!"

Before he could blink, the other charged at him, landing a blow to the side of his face. Chase gasped as his balance was lost, and before he could react, he was slammed to the ground. He coughed, trying to catch the wind that was knocked out of him. Ehna chuckled darkly, grabbing Chase's coat and holding him up.

"What's wrong, Suno? I thought you had more fight in you then that. Or was that all talk?" the brown haired teen laughed.

Without warning, Locke's core lit up. Chase could feel the monsuno trying to get out. Ehna let out a gasp as the energy from it suddenly spiked, as if to lash out at the other. Immediately, Ehna let go as Chase sank against the remains of the ruins that were close by.

Suddenly, something collapsed nearby, and Chase dizzily looked over to see something had burst through one of the ruins nearby. He blinked quickly to see a white monsuno had come through. The monsuno roared at the cloaked teen furiously. Ehna took a step back before another large monsuno burst through the ruins again. Two more soon showed up, and the teen was surrounded.

As his vision cleared, Chase was able to see that the white monsuno were the same ones that they had encountered when first coming to the desert. Only this time they seemed much more… Pure. There were no scales or odd features poking out of them and were completely white without any other markings, and seemed to hold a grande air to them as they stared down the brown-haired teen.

"…Tch! Damned monsuno!" he exclaimed. They roared back, the closer charging at him. The teen immediately bolted towards it, sliding under it as he fled for an opening. One of the others charged up an attack, barely missing as Ehna dove behind some of the columns that were still up. Three of them went after him, while the last stayed behind, coming up to Chase. He looked up, half lying on the ground as someone came down from it. He had to blink the spots out of his vision as a familiar red-haired teen came into view.

"Oi! Suno! Get up!"

"Al-pha?" he mumbled, getting to his hands and knees. He looked over to see the other two Strike Squad members hopping off the white monsuno as well. Chase couldn't help but stare at the white beast, remembering it from the other night that he and Alpha had battled (though it looked a bit ragged, as if it had just come from a fight). The shaking worsened, and he snapped out of his daze. Alpha signaled to his teammates, who nodded. He took out Tripwire's core before stepping away from Chase. When the red-haired teen did, Chase couldn't help but notice that his hand was also burnt.

"Tripwire! Launch!"

Yellow flashed nearby as the monsuno appeared. Chase steadily got to his feet as he noticed how much larger the white monsuno was compared to the other. No wonder the Hand was after it, it must be powerful...

"You'd better get out of here fast Suno!" Alpha exclaimed, immediately hopping onto Tripwire with the other two, "This whole cave will probably collapse any second now!"

Without another word, the Strike Squad fled out towards the entrance of the ruins. It was a little surprising to see that the other didn't want a monsuno battle. But seeing that they were about to get crushed under the ruins, even Alpha probably knew better.

Chase took a step, but stopped as he felt Locke's core pulsate. He glanced down in surprised, then realized what it was trying to say. Instead of following, Chase turned his back and fled back down the corridor he had come from, despite his whole body now aching from exhaustion. He maneuvered through every turn and ever curve without a second glance. Maybe it was instinct or his monsuno sight, but he knew exactly where he was heading.

It only took him a few minutes to get back to the place where he had left Jinja and Dax.

"C-Chase!" the red-haired girl exclaimed. As he ran over to them, he noted how worn out the rest of them looked. Jinja looked downright exhausted, with one of her hands looking a bit singed like Chase's. Bren seemed to be staring off into the distance, tears pooling in his eyes that threatened to fall as he sat on the ground. Beyal, who was lying on Bren's lap for some reason, glanced around slowly as if he was going to pass out. His hand was also burnt, though it stretched further up his arm. The only one who seemed decently fine was Dax, but he was covered in bruises and scratches. Chase quickened his pace, sliding to a stop when he was close.

"C'mon! We have to get out of here! The ruins are going to collapse any second now!" he said. Just then, something cold fell against his cheek, surprising him a bit. He wiped it off, and saw that it was just a drop of water. Water...

Horrified, Chase quickly looked up to see that the walls made up of water were now curving down onto them. Both Dax and Jinja saw as well, letting out gasps as buckets of water started to come down on the group. Chase glanced hesitantly at them all for a single second before grabbing Locke's core and throwing it as hard as he could.

"Locke! LAUNCH!"

* * *

A/N: Review Review Review!


	47. Chapter 47

A/N: Enjoy!

* * *

Six looked over to where his father was standing, who was staring down into the gorge where the lake was. They had gotten back on top and into the desert, though it was clear that the ruins were buried beneath all of the water. When they had left, the walls of water had suddenly collapsed on themselves, destroying the ruins and drowning the remains away. The rest of the caverns were also nearly flooded, and the two had to move fast as they tried avoiding the waves of water.

"… Father?" the teen asked when nothing was said for a while. The man was glaring down at the surface, as if to set it ablaze with his gaze alone. He growled a little, then turned back to the desert. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a communicator.

"… Hargrave. Send a transport to the desert for me. The monsuno energy of this place has gone dry," Klipse said. More words were spoken on the other side, and he closed the small communicator with a sigh. He wasn't happy about turning tail and taking off without a true victory, but they had no choice.

"… But father," Six started, then tried his best to smile," I-It's always been dry here."

Klipse raised a brow at the joke, making Six drop his gaze to his feet in shame.

"Anyway," the man said, not bothering to turn around, "We did get something out of this little trip. And I suppose that's all that matters. We'll analyze the data from the monsuno gauntlet I created. Then maybe we could find out how those children were able to use monsuno energy without becoming hybrids."

Six sighed a little, glancing at the gauntlet that the man was now holding close. He was reluctant to use such a devise, but because of how young he was, he was the only one who could wield it (Klipse tried as soon as he arrived, and fainted immediately afterward).

Klipse had gained knowledge from some man named Tallis about human monsuno experiments roaming in the desert, which were vital seeing that Six's father wanted nothing more then to perfect his Human-Monsuno hybrid. Still, Six was being useful, even if it meant harming others. And that's all that mattered at that moment.

"Let's go," Klipse said, "those S.T.O.R.M. operatives that left earlier probably called Charlemange by now. No doubt they'll be here in an hour or so."

Earlier, yellow monsuno had exited out of the ruins a little before they did. S.T.O.R.M. operatives were riding them, including the red-haired boy that Six had spoken to. They were nowhere in sight when they got back to the desert, but Klipse wasn't taking any chances.

The clone turned to glanced briefly at the lake for one last time, wondering if Chase Suno had managed to get out as well. And yet, even though he was suppose to hate Chase and his friends, for some reason Six actually hoped that he and the red-haired girl made it out alright.

"… Six!"

He shook his head, then ran after his father. He paused again as he saw something far overhead that he thought was a monsuno. Except this one was different. It wasn't like Chase's or his monsuno, or even his father's. Almost as if it was purer. He stood there for a second, watching as it disappeared into the clouds.

It was strange. Watching it made something stir inside him. Something that couldn't quite be called happiness, but was more fleeting. It made him feel warm, but not like the typical happiness he got when getting acknowledged by his father, or by calling out Demise. It was more… Genuine.

He watched it for a moment as it soared further up and into the skies above, the sunlight shining off it.

"… Beautiful."

_HLP_

_He was floating again._

_The water all around him seemed to ebb along slowly, as if without a current. He opened his eyes to blue all around, which he assumed was even more water. Flashes of images floated by, as if to replay his memories. He lazily looked at them, hardly paying much attention until he tried to move. After a moment, he suddenly recalled what had happened a few minutes ago._

_Did they not make it out? Was this… the afterlife? In which case, where was everyone else?_

_"…Guys? Bren? Jinja? Beyal? Dax?" Chase whispered. He turned to look to both sides, but couldn't see anyone or anything in sight besides the blue all around, and the dark abyss below. He cast his eyes lower as he held his hand close towards his heart, realizing something was missing from his grasp. _

_"… Locke."_

_He closed his eyes, trying to feel for some other presence. But there were none. Was this it? The end? Drifting in this endless abyss without anyone. Maybe… Maybe that's what he deserved after everything he put them through. He let out a sigh, willing to give himself up to the shadows below._

_"… Chase."_

_As if to give him a sign, he looked up towards where the sky would be and saw white light pouring into the world around him, lighting it up. But there was someone else there. A figure's outline slowly came closer until he could almost reach. And then she was there. With that warm presence that only she could give._

_"Mom," he said faintly. Not a fake, or an illusion. The real thing._

_"… You did so well, my son," Sophia said with a gentle smile, "When the seal's were released, I feared the worst. But you did it! You managed to stop the Hand of Destiny. And what's more, the Original monsuno have been restored, and can now look over the seals peacefully once again."_

_He stared at her for a moment, before bowing his head down, " No… I didn't do anything. All I did was put everyone in danger, and worse, I risked everything just to…"_

_She tilted her head a little with a frown, "… Just to see me?"_

_Chase shook his head again, feelings of shame making his stomach turn. It was true though. Ever since the incident with the Hand and his dreams a few weeks back, he knew that she was alive and being held by them. It had been eating away at his mind for a long time now, and it had even caused problems between him and his friends. Even him and his father..._

_Arms were suddenly wrapped around him in an embrace until his head was resting on the crook of her shoulder._

_"It's alright, son," she said, "It's been hard on you all these years without me. Without your father _and_ me. It was unfair of us to put that type of burden on your shoulders. And I am so, so sorry that you've had to go through it alone..."_

_He held his breath, then felt his eyes wheal up a bit. He brought his hands up and around until they were gripping tightly onto her back. He felt a hand run through his hair in a comforting manner._

_"Maybe… But," he said, voice muffled as he clung onto her, "I wasn't alone. Even though I never met you before, there was a part of me that knew you were still out there. And Dad always gave me messages. It wasn't the best, but it could've been worse." He looked up with a smile, "And I had Bren. And Jinja. And met Dax and Beyal. It wasn't the typical growing up experience, but we were still..."_

_He shook his head._

_"…And I had Locke," he continued, "one of the greatest gifts from dad I could ever get, and my most valued friend."_

_She looked down at him before letting out a small giggle. She pushed him away a little to look at him, and placed a hand on his cheek._

_"You really have grown into quite a young man," she said sighing a little. The air seemed to shift with her feelings, becoming refreshingly cool like the morning air, __"… I will always look over you. Even if the Hand of Destiny keeps me for hundreds of years, I'll still watch you."_

_"You know that's not true," Chase said to her surprise, then gave her a determined smile as he gripped onto her hand, "because I'm coming to get you. I won't leave you there. And neither will Dad. We'll find a way."_

_Sophia let out another soft giggle before pulling him into another hug as the light soon enveloped them both. And for a brief moment, Chase felt whole again._

_"… I know you will..."_

HLP

The ship, which hit a large amount of turbulence for the past few hours, had finally evened out and stabilized. When it did, Commandant Marshall Charlemange decided to go to her office in the back of the ship. She drummed her fingers against her arm as they were both crossed firmly. She looked out the large window that overlooked the desert as they started to travel across the jungle, debating on the next course of action. Clouds that had littered the sky were now clearing away, letting the morning sun finally shine though.

Just as the storm had taken a turn for the worst, nearly engulfing the whole ship, a brilliant column of light burst from the desert, lighting up the whole sky in a flurry of evening colors. As fast as it came, it was gone, and the storm had cleared enough for them to get out of the desert. She didn't even need a hint to know that Chase Suno was probably the cause of it all. Although that was questionably seeing that she left them at the Southern Base.

"… I suppose zis trip wasn't entirely fruitless," she said, taking note of the documents that were spread across her desk. A large number of them from Tallis. Who knows. Maybe the files he sent could be proven useful for using monsuno essence, or as some called it 'monsuno sight.' Or maybe she could...

"Commandant Marshall."

She turned towards the screen to see Commander Trey.

"… What iz it?" she asked, surprisingly with no hint of anger or impatience.

"It's the Strike Squad. They want to report on their findings over the past few hours."

She raised a brow. Didn't she send them back to the home base? But then again, she hadn't heard anything from anyone in the past few hours, so it was hard to say if anything was getting done.

"… What do zey want?" she asked as the sunlight stared to cast dim shadows around the room.

"It seems that they had found a source of monsuno energy in the desert, though they could only get samples of it," Trey said, "They had also come into contact with Suno's group, coming out with minor injuries and burns."

Charlemange raised a brow. It seems as if Suno's little group had managed to get out of the southern base after all. She scoffed a little. Of course Chase did, he was Jeredy's son after all.

"Anyway, we just got done picking them up," Trey continued, "Should I send them over to the central base?"

The blonde woman looked out the window once again. She did a double take, thinking she saw something white moving on the horizon. White wings...

"… Ma'am?"

Shaking her head, she turned back to the screen, "No. Send zem to zere home base. If zey were in the middle of whatever zat storm was just a few hours ago, I would imagine zat would be punishment enough."

Trey gave a baffled look before she turned off the screen. This wasn't like her at all. Usually she would order the release of those five considering how many failures they had in the past 24 hours. She kept her eyes out the window, hand slipping into her pocket. Something moved again, and she could've sworn she saw a white dragon in the distance.

Her fingers curled around Driftblades core as the sun rose higher into the sky. Blocking out the outline of the dragon as it retreated into the light. She frowned at the memory of seeing such a beast, but then softened a bit as she recalled moments prior to meeting it.

She let her gaze fall a bit as the warmth of the sun hit her face, carefully feeling the curves of Driftblade's core.

"… Siarl."

HLP

The cavern was silent besides the trickling of water from the Well of Insight. The five standing nearby were silent as they peered inside, though it was obvious that they were displeased. Petros, most of all, was the one who was visibly seething with anger.

"It seems that they have failed," Alister sighed.

Petros clenched his fists tightly as the well started to clear up enough for them to see into the remains of the ruins, though it was hard to tell now that it was filled with water once again. They all felt the moment that Tesserah was disposed of, but what of the others? There was no sign of Triah, and Ehna and Exi were more or less likely to be alive. But would it be in the Hand's best interest to welcome them back? After all, they had already perfected the technology for the shapeshifter cores.

"It seems that they have," Petros said, standing up and walking away from the well. As much as he hated to admit it, having to rely on those four was a mistake. It was a shame that they put so much into keeping them alive. Those four were only a last chance at trying to obtain monsuno essence, and were useless to them as Keepers.

They were so close to gaining the most powerful monsuno and monsuno essence in the world! And yet, those four had failed to see everything through. Of course, Chase Suno was also to blame, but he was also a priority seeing how his monsuno sight could easily power the well for hundreds of years. It was a simple miscalculation.

"Well? What should we do Petros?" asked Christoph, "We can't just let them roam on their own. What if S.T.O.R.M. gets a hold of them, or worse, Klipse."

"We could always contact that researcher we dumped the other two's remains on," Sasha said, "If he wasn't caught by S.T.O.R.M. that is."

"But that would still leave those three out for the rest of the world to pick apart," Alister said, "And we don't need anyone knowing about how we created out shapeshifter cores."

Petros bit the inside of his cheek. Summoning the remaining three back would cost them too much energy, fetching them where ever they were would take time, considering they had no clue where they were. All in all, it required effort. Too much effort for failures.

"We'll… Get a hold of them once they show themselves," Petros said, "If not, then let Klipse or S.T.O.R.M. have those little defects."

He walked away from them, knowing that the others would probably argue with his choice considering they had just lost some of their most prized experiments.

"… Shit!" he cursed, slamming his fist into the wall. He clenched his hand a little, feeling some of the bones crunching a little. If those three ever had the courage to come back, he would make sure that they would regret it.

HLP

"…"

"…"

…ase…"

"…is…. kay..?"

"..ake up..!"

He slowly blinked, hand coming up to block the light from the sun that was now blazing above. Chase brought it down as he saw the four faces that were staring down at him with a mixture of concern and relief. He let out a sigh, seeing the blue sky above them.

"I take it we made it out," he said, then sat up. The five of them were a few feet from the sea shore, the waves calmly lapping along. He glanced back to see the desert still stretching beyond the horizon, but also ocean cliffs that towered above the shoreline. He could also see caverns that were under the cliffs, half hidden by the waves.

"We were probably swept along by the current," Jinja said, looking back towards the ocean, "There was probably an underground waterway that lead outward."

Chase nodded, then looked out as well, remembering the last few moments before he blacked out.

He had called out Locke at the last second, shielding them all from the curtains of water that drowned the rest of the ruins away. He remembered clinging desperately to them all, but especially Locke, who also clung back as it's shield barely held up. He looked down at the core in his other hand. Locke had probably gone back inside when it timed out, and he could feel it inside. He sighed in relief, knowing that his partner had made it out alright as well.

The sun was high above them, which meant it was probably around noon. How long was he out of it? He shook his head, knowing that it didn't matter. Time was the least of their concerns.

"So how's everyone?" he asked, glancing at each of them.

"Better now that every thing is over with," Jinja sighed, leaning back on her palms. She winced a bit and shook her left hand a bit, which was covered in burns similar to Chase's. He chuckled a bit at her comment.

"A little damp. But nothing a little sun won't fix," Dax shrugged, then immediately stood up to stretch. Chase nodded, then turned to the other two.

"B? Beyal?"

The monk scratched his head a little, "Memory is a little spotty, but other then that, doing a lot better then the last few days."

Chase smiled, though he winced a little at the sight of Beyal's hand (they would all probably need to get some medical attention once they get back). It was then that he noticed that Bren was strangely silent. The brown-haired teen saw him staring, and looked away.

"… Fine," he said a bit reluctantly.

Chase let out a sigh," C'mon B. What's bugging you?"

Bren shifted uncomfortably, "Well… The original monsuno, at least the one that was with us the whole time, it had… There was something familiar about it that I couldn't figure out. But then I realized what it was."

"What was it?" Chase asked. Bren hesitated before reaching into his bag for the Core Tablet. He pressed a few buttons before answering.

"Well… It's something that it said before when we were in the ruins," Bren said, looking down at the screen, "It said that monsuno energy all came from the same place. And when I was near it, it felt _exactly_ like Quickforce, and then…"

He shook his head a bit, still looking down.

"Well… What if… What if a monsuno's spirit doesn't die? It just goes back to the source of monsuno essence. And that could be what makes monsuno essence alive."

Bren sighed, then looked up, "… You probably think I'm crazy right?"

"Not really," Chase shrugged, "I don't really get any of this spiritual-sciencey stuff. But if you think Quickforce is still alive in some way, then that's fine by me."

Bren smiled sheepishly, and glanced down at the Core Tablet when it started to make a sound. He blinked in realization for a moment before looking back up , "Oh yeah. Chase, what was up with that message you got from your dad yesterday? You never did say what he sent."

"Oh that," Chase said, scratching his cheek,"It was a warning about Klipse planning something that had to do with the ruins we were at, but also about how a monsuno attacked the train. Luckily he and Jon Ace are fine. It was a little weird though. He said the only thing that was taken was the Crystal of Tav Kagah."

Immediately, both Bren and Beyal perked up a bit. Chase noticed, and glanced at the two of them. Sighing, Beyal held out his burnt hand, revealing broken bits of rock and glass. The rock was no longer a brilliant green, but a dull, normal grey.

"Sorry Chase," he said, "Apparently the Strike Squad got a hold of it. When we had to remake the seals, I heard a voice telling me to use the crystal. It probably broke when the energy got sealed."

Chase let out a sigh, though smiled a bit. He scooped up the remains of the crystal from Beyal's palm and stood up. He walked over towards the shore, stopping when the waves were barely touching his boots. Without another thought, he threw the remains as far as he could. He turned back to see them all looking at him a bit surprised.

"Eh. Don't worry about it," he said, brushing his hands together, "My dad says he got all the information that he could from the crystal. I think he'll probably find that cure for Jon Ace by the time we get back."

"That's a bleezin' shame though," Dax said, bringing his hands behind his head as he looked out towards the ocean, "You went through a lot of trouble to get it."

"It's better then obsessing over it like Alpha did," Bren chuckled, "he was willing to let the whole place blow up just so he could get a rematch with Chase."

"For some reason, that doesn't surprise me," Jinja laughed. Chase smiled at them, but quickly grew solemn.

"Hey…" he said. Everyone noticed his change and his gaze fell to the ground, "… Sorry guys."

Jinja raised a brow, "What for?"

"… The whole time we were here… I haven't exactly been in the right mindset," he said, "I guess everything with the Hand of Destiny and my mother has been eating away at me for a while now. And I should've been more careful with a lot of things for the past few days. I risked everything just so…"

The rest of them exchanged looks. Jinja let out a sigh, stood up, and walked over to him. Without a word, she punched him lightly in the shoulder. He winced a little, but was reassured when she smiled at him.

"We get it," she said, "This is something that you have to do for your family. Just stop thinking you have to do it alone."

"We have been doing things together for a while now. You won't be getting rid of us that easily," Bren said, standing up as well. The Core Tablet started to make noises, and he immediately started to bang his hand against it to stop.

"And Old Man Suno did say that we need to stop the Hand anyway," Dax said, looking out towards the sea, "And if that means helping out your mum then that's what it'll take."

Chase smiled, then turned to look out towards the ocean. The air was cool and crisp against his face, and smelt refreshing compared to the desert and caves they had been wandering in. He heard the others walk up beside him, though he kept his eyes focused on the horizon. There was a flicker of something, and Chase blinked when he thought he saw something white moving amongst the clouds.

"Ah."

He turned to Beyal, who seemed to notice it too.

"… What is it?" Bren asked, trying to follow his line of sight to see what it was.

"Ah… Nothing," the monk said, shaking his head. Chase looked back, faintly seeing whatever it was fade into the distance. He gripped onto Locke's core, feeling the energy from within. His mind was clear, and the voice that had been disturbing him for the past few days was now gone, replaced by the true thoughts of his mother. Along with the encouraging feeling from Locke.

'Don't worry, mother,' he thought, taking a deep breath of the fresh ocean air, 'I promise I'm coming for you. And the Hand of Destiny.'

_To be continued._

* * *

A/N:

Hurray! It's over! Who knew this supposed-to-be oneshot would become this long of a story.

Speaking of which, I decided to do an additional one shot featuring a popular ship. But since I'm not in tune with the ships people are into with this fandom, in this last review (or private message if you feel like it), please include a ship you'd like a story about (otherwise I'll just randomly search for a really obscure one or ask my beta-reader for one).

Also, Sequel to this is currently being drafted up and should be up and ready in a month or so. It won't nearly be as long, but does have a few interesting twists and turns.

Big thanks to everyone who's followed, favorited, and/or reviewed! (And my beta for the artwork!).

Review Review Review!


	48. Chapter 48

A/N: Alright just an announcement about the sequel to this story! It's called Relapse, is currently at a few chapters. It probably won't be as long as this story, but it does have a lot of interesting twists that are planned!

Go check it out, and be sure to write a review if you guys want more types of stories.


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